J LIBRARY OF CONGRESS.* 

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| UNITED STATES OF AMERICA. | 



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BIOGRAPHY 



OF 



Mrs. J. H. Conant 



THE 



WORLD'S MEDIUM 

OF THE 

NINETEENTH CENTURY: 

BEING A HISTORY OF HER MEDIUMSHIP FROM CHILDHOOD TO 
THE PRESENT TIME ; TOGETHER WITH EXTRACTS FROM THE 
DIARY OF HER PHYSICIAN J SELECTIONS FROM LETTERS 
RECEIVED VERIFYING SPIRIT COMMUNICATIONS GIVEN 
THROUGH HER ORGANISM AT THE BANNER OF LIGHT 
FREE CIRCLES ; SPECIMEN MESSAGES, ESSAYS, 
AND INVOCATIONS FROM VARIOUS INTEL- 
LIGENCES IN THE OTHER LIFE, 
ETC , ETC., ETC. 

OPENING REMARKS, 

BY 

ALLEN PUTNAM. 



BOSTON: ^ 
WILLIAM WHITE AND COMPANY, 

BANNER OF LIGHT OFFICE, 
14 Hanover Street. 

1873. 







*w> 



p 



Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1872, 

BY WILLIAM WHITE & CO., 

In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington. 



Electrotyped by B. F. Morgan, 
Broadway, Everett, Mass. 



i 






r 






PREFATORY REMARKS. 



by jsjloljsn. btjthst^m:. 



The accompanying biography is so simply and lucidly told, 
that it will explain itself to the reader, and needs no comments 
in advance. 

A few words relating to its authorship and the circumstances 
of its production, may properly come from one who read it while 
in manuscript, but was in no way connected with its production. 
I am told, and believe, that spirit Theodore Parker outlined and 
dictated its essential substance, and may be deemed its responsi- 
ble producer. 

Mr. John W. Day, a reporter at the Banner of Light office, 
listened on many occasions to utterances through Mrs. Conant 
while she was under control by Parker, and minuted in short- 
hand what that spirit desired to put forth as a biography of his 
medium. Subsequently, Mr. Day wrote out in full, under the 
guidance of memory and impression, aided by Mrs. Conant's 
statements while in her normal condition — by facts and reminis- 
cences furnished by Mr. Colby, chief editor of the Banner — 
and by the diary of Mrs. Conant's physician. The style of com- 
position is probably that of the ajnanuensis, while the arrange- 
ment and leading facts and reflections should be ascribed to 
Parker. 

The peculiar properties, gifts, utterances, labors, sufferings, 
and fame of its subject give to the work its chief interest. It is 
a simple, straight-forward narrative, even though a dead man here 
describes the life lines of a living woman. 

Prophets and seers, through all the ages, have generally had 



4 PREFATORY REMARKS. 

singular and hard experiences. This "World's Medium" fur- 
nishes no exception to the general rule. 

Objection was made to styling Mrs. Conant the "World's 
Medium " on the title page. The reply was that for many years 
the doors of her circle room have, tri-weekly, been thrown freely 
open to the world — to all comers whatsoever, and that it is in 
this sense only — viz., her accessibility by the world, and the 
extent to which the world has approached her, that she is here 
called the World's Medium. She has been the channel through 
which more than ten thousand different spirits have sent mes- 
sages to their kindred and friends on earth. No claim is made 
here, even by implication, that she is the world's greatest or its 
best medium — but only that she has been put more at the 
service of the broad world than any other. 

Wherever mediumship exists, its germs have been in its pos- 
sessor from the hour of conception — they are innate — and not 
special gifts to their possessor because of some moral excellencies 
which the past life has manifested. Like the poet, the musician, 
or the mathematician, a medium is born possessor of all the fac- 
ulties that are ever afterwards unfolded in the organism. 

The biography of an eminent medium need contain no words 
which imply that the subject possesses in marked degree either 
intellectual, moral, or religious properties or qualities. Such 
characteristics are no more essential to success in mediumship, 
than in music, painting, or any line of art or any occupation. 
Therefore, whatever excellencies, acquirements, or blemishes his 
subject may possess as a woman, the essential author of the fol- 
lowing pages has made no attempt to give them publicity. She 
is presented only as a medium, through whom light and infor- 
mation from the spirit world have more or less directly reached 
the minds of millions upon earth, and of whose mediumistic life 
hundreds of thousands will be glad to learn. 



INDEX 



PART I. 

Introduction. —Early Life and Manifestations. 

Section I. — Birth and education. II. — "Who are the angels, mother ? " 
III. — "You have lost your way, little one." First knowledge of spirit 
guardianship, and the nearness of those called "dead." Epimenides. IV.— 
Her severe illness. She prescribes for herself while entranced. Her case 
is examined by many physicians, and declared to he " a new disease of the 
brain, with Which the Faculty are unacquainted." V. — " The angels will 
be father and mother to you." Clairvoyant view of death. VI. — Priestly 
intolerance vs. the Christ spirit — her mother's minister refuses to attend 
the funeral, because of Mrs. Crowell's " dealings with the devil" while alive. 
Fannie is led by spirit direction to a liberal clergyman. VII. — Leaves 
home, and resides in Lowell, Mass. ; marries John II. Conant. Is informed 
by spirits concerning her line of descent 13 

PART II. 

She becomes a Public Medium. 

Section I. — Kemoves from Lowell to Boston. Dr. Kittredge vs. Dr. Tobey. 
A vision of heaven. II. — Her long illness and threatened dissolution. 
"Why do n't you try a medium ? " Her first attendance at a seance. Dr. 
John Dix Fisher. III. — She is sent by Dr. Fisher to reside with Mrs. M. 
E. Cates. IV. — Singular manifestations. She gives her first " sitting" — 

5 



6 INDEX. 

her first patron. V. — The spirit physician and his power over contagious 
diseases. The " dead" doctor vs. the living. "Nature will settle the case 
in two hours." Mrs. Conant treats, while herself entranced, many small 
pox patients, neither contracting the disease, nor transmitting it to others. 
VI. — Physical manifestations. Clearly defined spirit hands and forms are 
seen at her circle room. She is lifted up and carried across the apartment 
by spirits. "VTI. — Mischievous spirits. VIII. — The seven mysterious 
investigators ; they come in disguise, but by the requirement of Dr. Fisher 
are obliged to remove it, after which a highly successful seance ensues. 
They ask for a "sitting" in some room and house other than the one she 
inhabits, and she acceeds. Astounding manifestations. "Big Dick." She 
is lifted with a heavy table till she writes her name on the ceiling overhead. 
Parley with undeveloped spirits 35 

PAET III. 
Remarkable Mental and Physical Manifestations. 
Section I. — The writing phase of her mediumship. The intelligences treat 
of different subjects at the same time ; the one through her right, the other 
the left hand. She discovers hidden things and recovers stolen property. 
"Where am I going?" The tempted Soubrette reclaimed. "What we 
tell you in darkness, that speak ye in light." II. — Aunt Betsey White 
and the spirits. "You have bewitched me, child." III. — A work basket 
thrown upon the floor, and its contents scattered by the spirits, is replaced 
on the table, and the articles gathered one by one, at the request of Mrs. 
Conant, in sight of herself and a visitor. An undeveloped spirit and his 
works. Mrs. Conant is attended by spirits while sick, who minister to her 
wants as desired. IV. — She removes her residence to Mrs. M. A. Pope's 
on Tileston Street. Colonel Pope is cured by the agency of Dr. Fisher. 
V. — The missing skein. VI. — The combat in the dark. VTI. — The 
abstracted pistareens. A disturbed toilette. VTH. — She becomes ac- 
quainted with Luther Colby, future t editor of the Banner of Light, and 
William Berry, its business manager. IX. — She commences giving seances 
at the residence of Mr. Berry, North Cambridge, Mass. The "Battle of 
Monterey" 57 



INDEX. i 

PABT TV. 
She is employed by the Banner ot Light as Business and Circle 
Medium. 
Section I. — The Banner of Light appears for the first time. Her predictions 
concerning it. It is primarily managed by spirit foresight and direction, as 
communicated through her organism. II. — Captain (Pirate) Gibbs. Her 
mysterious visit to New York. "You'll anchor before 10 o'clock." The 
averted conflagration. HI. — The magnetic vampyre. She removes from 
Boston to North Cambridge. Engages an office in the city, on Central 
Court. Invisible teeth. The " double." "N. P. Banks elected Speaker." 
TV. — She removes to the National House, Boston. Dr. Fisher and the 
law-maker. V. — The Banner of Light preliminary circles are organized. 
What constitutes a ' ' battery " as used in a Spiritualistic sense 79 

PAET V. 

The Banner of Light Tree Circles. —Her Labors as a Public Speaker. 

Section I. — The early messages. Earnest manifestations. Her visits while 
absent from her body. II. — Opposition to the publication of messages, by 
the friends of the communicators. III. — Prof. C C Felton and the Boston 
Courier vs. the spirits. TV. — Dr. Kittredge and Dr. Pike. "V. — She ap- 
pears to Henry Wright. An unlooked-for exhibition of spirit power. Spirit 
solicitude as to her diet. VI. — " The Little White Lamb." VII.— -"Abbie 
is this you ? " Her severe sickness. She predicts President Lincoln's re-elec- 
tion and tragic demise. Vlil. — Her first appearance in public as a trance 
speaker, at the Meionaon, Boston. She lectures with success in Salem, Ports- 
mouth, and elsewhere. IX. — Dangerous illness at 69 Dover Street. An 
almost fatal experiment 103 

PAET VI. 
Further Incidents. — Teachings of the Spirit World. 

Section I. — "Andy Johnson." Her mysterious lady visitor. Gen. McCook's 
message. She writes mechanically in the German tongue. Removal to 76 



5 INDEX. 

"Waltham Street II. — "What the invisibles teach. Animals see spirits. 
HI. — Animals impressed by spirits, "Wapanaw and the horse. "Carlo" 
as a healing medium. IV. — Animals in the spirit world. The white 
horse of the minister. The lady and her pet parrot. V. — The Red Man 
and his language. " Metoka " 131 

PART -vn. 

Peculiar Manife stations of Spibit Power. — Intricacies or Control. 

Section I. — The vantage ground of Spiritualism. Celestial consolation. A 
mother to her boys. IE. — Death in the hospital. A bewildered spirit. An 
example of strong vitativeness. III. — Conditions surrounding a spirit at 
its first control. Hydrophobia. Involuntary manifestations by spirits. The 
suicide's state in the land of souls. TV. — Varied character of manifes- 
tations at the circles held at the residence of Mrs. Conant, as portrayed in 
the diary of Dr. Pike. The Witness of the so-called dead. V. — " Spring- 
Flower ; " " Ne-os-co-le-ta ;" " Vashti ; " " Metoka." 161 

PART "VIII. 

Miscellaneous Manifestations of Spirit Intelligence. — The Hermit 
of the powow. 

Section I. — The telegraph operator and his friend. " Turn on the light." 
Spirits seen in vision by Mrs. Conant, tested through their pictures being 
reproduced by a medium artist in a distant part of the country. H. — Poems 
by "Birdie" Wilson, given through the organism of Mrs. Conant. Josephine 
Carlton. HE. — The Hermit of the Powow 199 

PART IX. 

Characteristic Messages. — Verification of Spirit Messages. 

Section I. — "William Berry. II. — Dr. John Gardiner. HI. — " Light. " 
TV. — Logan and "Waunondaga. V. — " How many messages are verified ?" 
Hudson Tuttle regarding the Message Department. VI. — Harriet Shel- 
don ; Eliza Mucbmore. VH. — Stephen Hanscom; Hiram Blanchard. VEH. 



INDEX. 9 

— " Is there any good in Spiritualism ? " Mehitable Lothrop. IX.— Oliver 
Bacon; "Eulalia;" Edward Cobb; Sarah J. Sargent; James D. Farns- 
worth. X. — James M. Peebles on the truth of spirit communications, 
through Mrs. Conant. Brig. Gen. Geo. B. Boomer. XI. — Heber C. Kim- 
ball; Charles Goodyear. XII. — Records at the Adjt. General's office of ( 
Massachusetts. Joseph Yeaton; Joel Nason. XIII. — J. Walter "Walsh; 
Capt. Wilmot Seiders 225 

PAET X. I 

Specimen Essays and Invocations. 

Section I. — Prayer and its uses. The mission of Spiritualism. II. — Intro- 
ductory essays. III. — Invocations by Rev. Jesse B. Ferguson, Pope 
Gregory the Eighth, Father Fitz James, Cardinal Cheverus, Archbishop 
Hughes, Father Shaw, Father Hawley, John Wesley, Mather Byles, John 
Pierpont, W. E. Channing, T. Starr King, Rev. Charles Burroughs, Ann 
Lee, Archbishop Whately, Elias Smith, Emanuel Swedenborg, Rabbi 
Lowenthal, Rabbi Sheider, Rahmohun Roy, Abd-el-Hadda, Ishmud Kedda, 
Sa-goye-wa-tha (Red Jacket,) Baron Von Humboldt, Lady Hester Stan- 
hope, Margaret Fuller Ossoli, Lorenzo Dow, Henry C. Wright, Charlotte 
Corday, Frederick T. Gray, Thomas Paine, Theodore Parker. Conclusion. . 283 



PART I 



INTRODUCTION — EAELY LIFE AND MANIFESTATIONS. 



INTRODUCTION. 



There are two questions which have followed like phantoms 
the footsteps of each generation along the years : "Is this state 
of material being all that is in store for us?" and "If we indeed 
survive the shock of death, shall we. remember those we loved 
on earth, and be able to make our presence known to them? " 

The great mass of humanity — in whatever age or country — 
has instinctively repelled the thought of annihilation, although, 
as a minority idea, it has frequently found existence in peculiarly 
organized minds. After-life, in some form, however crude in its 
conditions, has been the incentive of all the moral ethics and 
religious formulas to which time has given birth. 

It would seem that to him who sincerely questions of his interior 
consciousness the verity of immortality in hours of twilight or mid- 
night silence, when the toils of the day are done — or in the brood- 
ing presence of some chilling sorrow, when the loved of earth have 
passed the bounds of mortal ken — there can be but one answer 
which comes therefrom, and that is, that the ego (my inner 
being) is deathless and indestructible. From the earliest dawn 
of reason as evidenced in the acts of the primitive races, and 
foreshortened upon the canvas of time by archaeology, man has 
been convinced in some way — though the process may be inex- 
plicable at times — that he is really twofold in nature ; that as 
the seed in the material world contains the germ of life and the 
nutritive principle which is to sustain that life till it gains power 
to draw from the surrounding soil its daily supply, so his body is 

13 



14 INTRODUCTION. 

but the nucleus of higher possibilities, containing in itself a power 
that is to live after it has exhausted all the vital food which the physi- 
cal form can offer, by drawing from the soil and atmosphere of a 
contiguous and higher — though unseen and mystical — country 
the nutriment which shall expand it to full development. 

This wide-spread and intuitive looking for immortality has 
affirmatively decided the first question ; but the correct answer 
to the companion query concerning the after communication 
of the so-called dead, while it has been also shadowed upon the 
traditions and beliefs of all races, and partially embodied in cer- 
tain religious systems, has not met with the universal acknowl- 
edgment among mankind which it merits — in too many cases 
being arbitrarily placed in abeyance by those who, having charge 
of the rising generations of the people, educate them to treat the 
subject from standpoints antagonistic to the use of God's choicest 
gift — the human reason ! 

Nevertheless, in obedience to the ever-increasing enlightenment 
of the world, we find in the nineteenth century the cropping out 
of a wondrous demonstration of the truth of man's aforetime dim 
and clouded conceptions or inexplicable convictions. To the hearts 
of millions in America, England, France, Germany, Russia, and 
other civilized countries the fact has become patent, through conclu- 
sive evidence — both mental and physical — that there is "a con- 
tinued, conscious existence beyond the change called death;" 
and that those in that state of being, but little advanced by the 
process — ascending only in the scale by subsequent develop- 
ment, from that position to which their conduct while in earth 
life logically assigned them — can identify themselves to those 
whom they once cherished. This new principle of belief has 
been designated "Spiritualism," whose meaning Hayward's 
Book of All Religions informs us may be stated in a single 
proposition : 

"That disembodied human spirits sometimes manifest them- 
selves, or make known their presence and power, to persons in 
the earthly body, and hold realized communication with them." 



INTRODUCTION. 15 

This is the great truth which the present age has given to 
cheer the whilom dark pathway to the tomb with the glory of a 
coming world of eternal progression, and to drown the dismal 
dirge which the sombre, cave-arched waves of death's Jordan 
have chanted for ages gone, with the thrilling music of angelic 
welcome to life's ''evergreen hills ! " Right has found its willing 
martyrs in every age. Men and women, filled with an irresistible 
impulse whose source is from above, have in its cause fearlessly 
dared whatever of physical anguish or mental disquietude the 
bigots of their day could heap upon them ; and in this nine- 
teenth century many who recognize within them the voice of 
consecration are, like their prototypes of old, devoting their 
self-sacrificing labors upon the public rostrum, in the seance, 
through the columns of the spiritual press, and every avenue 
in social life, for the advancement of a knowledge of this 
new revelation among men, without fear and without adequate 
reward — hoping only for the harvest which their children's eyes 
shall see. Happy in feeling that "He who commanded the light 
to shine out of darkness hath shined into their hearts" — knowing 
that they ' ' have this treasure in earthen vessels' ' that the glory may 
be ascribed to the true source of inspiration, they continue — as 
does the subject of this sketch — while "troubled on every side, 
yet not distressed," "perplexed, but not in despair," to proclaim 
to a world lost in the glaring wastes of material gain, and misled 
by erroneous educational guides. 

" God is not dumb, that he should speak no more ; 

If thou hast wanderings in the wilderness 
And find'st not Sinai, 'tis thy soul is poor; 

There towers the Mountain of the Voice no less, 
Which whoso seeks shall find, but he who bends 
Intent on manna still, and mortal ends, 

Sees it not, neither hears its thundered lore !" 



BIOGRAPHY. 



I. 

The following record has been prepared, that the 
reader may know somewhat of the strange expe- 
riences, deep sufferings, sharp trials, and noble fruits 
which have attended the life line of only a single in- 
dividual among the many apostles of the new dispen- 
sation, and learn to value the gift of spirit com- 
munion in proportion to its cost. 

Frances Ann Crowell was born in Portsmouth, 
N. H., April 28th, 1831. Her parents, named Peter 
and Hannah, respectively, were in moderate circum- 
stances, and at the time of her birth resided on Par- 
ker Street, in the western portion of the (then) 
.town. 

When about the age of six years, she commenced 
attending a private school near her home, kept by 
Mrs. Leach, a widow lady ; this she continued to be 
connected with for about eighteen months, when she 
entered one of the public schools of the town on 
Cabot Street — Mr. Blaisdell, preceptor. After the 
lapse of some months her father removed to another 
district — the southern part of the town — and she 
was enrolled among the scholars of Mrs. Marshall, 

17 



18 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

wlio prepared girls to enter the high school. Owing 
to sickness she was not able to attend regularly, 
being kept from her studies nearly half the time. 
On her attaining the age of eleven she left this 
school, and never attended any other. The forego- 
ing institutions in Portsmouth, and the limited time 
spent therein, have been her only opportunities for 
education, as that word is commonly used. 

II. 

Her mediumistic faculties existed from her earliest 
years, although for a long time she did not under- 
stand what was meant by them. When about seven 
years of age she was prostrated by a fever, and one 
evening she heard her mother, while watching by 
her bedside, conversing with some person apparently 
in the room, who in her bewildered condition she 
supposed to be one of the neighbors. Finally, rous- 
ing herself to partial consciousness, she gazed around 
the apartment, but failed to see the individual ad- 
dressed. Her mother not detecting the movement, 
and supposing she still slept, continued the conver- 
sation. At last childish curiosity gained the ascen- 
dancy over weakness, and the little one asked : 
" Who are you talking with, mother? " 
"Why, my child," replied her parent, " I thought 
you were asleep," and she endeavored to turn the 
attention of the patient to some other subject. But 
the anxiety of the daughter could not be appeased, 
and finally her mother said : 

"Well, my dear, I was talking to the angels." 
" The angels, mother ! I thought they lived in 
fieaven." 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 19 

" Yes, but they sometimes come to talk with us in 
this world." 

The future medium having never been brought 
face to face with the matter before, was strangely 
moved, and feared that her mother must have be- 
come suddenly deranged. " Who are the angels, 
mother? " she asked. 

" The angels, my daughter, are those who once 
lived on this earth, but who are now called dead. 
Your little sister is an angel." 

"So you were talking to them? " 

"Yes." 

" What did they say ? " 

" Your little sister tells me that you are to recover." 

III. 

From that day, like one of old, she " kept all these 
things, and pondered them in her heart," wondering 
if those scenes and persons she sometimes beheld, 
though others could not, were really of angelic origin, 
as the philosophy of her mother would seem to indi- 
cate. She heard raps, and saw articles of furniture' 
moved in her room when she knew no mortal hand 
was there to perform the acts ; and she gravely con- 
sidered these — the first, premonitory drops of the 
great shower yet to come — with a depth of interest 
beyond her years. Her mother, yielding to her im- 
portunities, talked frequently with her, explaining 
the matter as fully as she herself understood it at 
that early period (ten years before the accepted date 
of the advent of Modern Spiritualism) and prophesied 
that her daughter would one day know more con- 
cerning it. 



20 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

At that time — and to the hour of her decease — 
her mother was a member, in regular standing, of 
the Chestnut Street Baptist Church, and her friends 
were sorely troubled at the thought of the " wild 
delusion " which had taken possession of " Sister 
Crowell." When her daughter was about nine years 
old, Mrs. C, was seized with a severe illness which 
threatened her life. She grew rapidly worse, and 
one black midnight the little Fannie was called up 
by a member of the affrighted household, and told 
to dress herself with all speed and summon the 
physician who lived two miles away, as her moth- 
er was dying. She arose hastily and in youthful 
trepidation rushed out into the darkness with her 
bonnet under her arm, a shoe upon one of her feet, 
and its companion in her hand — she intending to 
put it on as she journeyed. In her trouble she lost 
her shoe and her way also, and found herself alone 
in the broad unsettled suburb outlying the " South 
Road" as it is called. She was extremely fright- 
ened, and ran rapidly, with a hope of finding some 
familiar object. Suddenly she fell, and, as she sup- 
posed, fainted away — but after-experience has shown 
her that she passed into the state of trance. When 
she returned to consciousness — or came out of the 
trance — she saw a tall gentleman standing by her 
side. She looked at him at first with joy at the hope 
of finding her way and gaining the physician's house 
in time to be of assistance to her mother, but there 
was something in his appearance which filled her. 
with indefinable awe. 

" You have lost your way, little one," he said, 
kindly. 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 21 

" Yes, sir," she replied. 

" Come with me," he continued, " and I will show 
you where you wish to go." 

Fear again struggled for the mastery : " He is a 
stranger to me — how does he know where I wish to 
go ? " queried the child, as she looked earnestly at 
the luminous form before her. u Is he an angel?" 
She again supposed she fainted from fright, but was 
really entranced, and did not recover control of her 
senses till she found herself at the doctor's door with 
her guide, where the spirit — for such it really was 

— informed her that he was Epimenides, an ancient 
Greek, and that he had come in answer to her prayer. 
This to her seemed strange, but was true, as she had 
kept up a mental cry — though she had not spoken 
it aloud — to the angels, in the midst of her fears, 
that they would come and help her, and retain her 
mother in life till she could return to the house. Her 
efforts were successful ; the doctor and a friend her 
mother desired to see were both summoned, and the 
failing patient recovered. Fannie often after this 
occurrence felt the influence of her mysterious friend 

— she did not always see him, but knew that he was 
near. 

IV. 

Sometime after this event,, and when she was 
about ten years of age, while playing, at the hour of 
twilight, she suddenly fell in what was pronounced 
a fit by her medical attendants, and remained in an 
unconscious condition till three o'clock on the follow- 
ing morning. On her returning to a cognizance of 
surrounding things her glance fell first upon two well 
known professional gentleman, Dr. Cheever (a cele- 



22 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

• 

brated physician of Portsmouth, and well known 
while in life throughout New England,) and Dr. 
Dwight ; the one held a spoon, the other was endeav- 
oring to force her teeth apart sufficiently for the ad- 
ministration of the prepared prescription. She then 
passed into the trance, and while so conditioned, 
some spirit, evidently well versed in the intricacies 
of pharmacopaeial lore, gave directions through her 
lips to the two wonder-struck M. D.'s, as to what 
should be done for the betterment of her case. Al- 
though the physicians considered this as merely the 
result of an abnormal state of the brain, yet they ac- 
knowledged the advice given, to be astonishingly 
scientific, and such as it would be well for them to 
follow — which they did, thus presenting an exhibi- 
tion of remarkable professional liberality, though it 
was perfectly in keeping with the general dealings of 
the fearless gentlemen in question. Her sickness at 
this time proved a serious matter, extending over a 
period of six months, during most of which these 
physicians attended her ; they then gave up the case 
into the hands of Dr. Goddard, also of Portsmouth. 
Through all this season of trial, as soon as either 
physician entered the room the young patient would 
be entranced, and if he was about to administer any- 
thing which her " guides " (as she afterward learned 
by increased knowledge of the facts of spirit com- 
munion) thought she ought not to have, they, through 
her organism, would refuse, and make a prescription 
themselves. All the physicians employed considered 
her case a most remarkable one ; she was visited by 
Drs. Lynton, Kelley, and many others from different 
parts of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, all of 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 23 

whom were desirous of tracing the workings of the 
peculiar " disease " for themselves. These investi- 
gators finally came to the conclusion that she was 
troubled with some new derangement of the brain 
with which the medical faculty were not yet ac- 
quainted. 

V. 

Soon after Fannie's recovery, her mother was 
again prostrated by sickness — which proved to be 
her last — and with this event commenced the oc- 
currence of many singular spirit manifestations, both 
mental and physical in character. So startling were 
these displays of invisible force, that neither money 
or friendship would induce persons to stay in the 
house with the . patient. As soon as the disturb- 
ances began, away ran every one in mortal fright, 
leaving upon the daughter the entire burden of 
household duties and the care of her afflicted parent. 

When she was about eleven years of age this 
period of anxious and self-devoting labor drew to a 
close, and her parent, slowly sinking, passed the 
reaches of mortality. A few days previous to her 
decease she called the little one to her bedside, and 
said: 

" Fannie, I am going to leave you," upon which 
the sad-faced child cried out, " Oh take me with 
you." 

" No, my dear," replied the mother, " God has a 
wondrous work for you to do in after years, and you 
must stay here and perform it." 

Fannie had been before impressed to feel a vague 
outlining of some remarkable course in life reserved 



24 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

for her, but nothing definitive had been portrayed, 
and she again said : 

" Oh, how can I do anything without a mother?" 

"My dear," answered the parent, "the angels 
will be your father and mother. When you come to 
meet me in heaven, bring me a clear record that you 
have always obeyed them. You will know more 
concerning this by and by." 

In after-time when the child had grown to woman- 
hood, and was present at her first understood spiritual 
seance, the remembrance of that mother's prophecy, 
coming to her like the echo of a refrain across the 
years, was the great cause of her assenting to the 
demands of the spirit world as expressed by Dr. 
Fisher. 

At the time of her mother's decease, raps were 
heard and electric lights seen in the chamber, and 
the child medium was frequently entranced ; indeed, 
so much of her vitality was consumed previous to 
this event in supplying the needs of the sinking Que, 
that when those attending took her away from the 
cold form of her arisen parent, she herself was, as 
she expresses it, "nearer dead than alive." During 
her mother's departure from the form the little one 
beheld a strange vision — unseen to others in the 
room — akin to that which has so often been por- 
trayed since by clairvoyants, but which at that time 
she failed to understand. Andrew Jackson Davis, 
the wonderful seer, has beautifully described the 
process in his recent work, " The Temple," as seen 
by himself on other occasions in after years : 

* * * " 'Death' is the word used to signify 'the end of 
life,' spoken by persons who see not that seeming death is really 



MRS. J. IT. CONANT. 25 

'the beginning of life,' and the opening of the sacred volume 
of eternity. But let us peer "through the seeming, into that 
which is within the veil. 

' ' The person is now dying ; and it is to be a rapid death. 
Observe something about temperature. The feet are cold ; the 
hands hot and white ; a coldness pervades the entire cuticle. 
See ? What is that accumulating in the atmosphere just over 
the pillowed head? It is an ethereal emanation — a golden 
magnetic halo — a throbbing, almost self-conscious atmosphere. 

' ' The bodily temperature is now lowering rapidly. The ,cold- 
ness has extended upward from the toes to the knees, and from 
the finger tips to the elbows ; while, in exactly the same ratio, 
the emanation has ascended higher over the head. The arms 
are now cold to the shoulders, and legs to the hips ; and the em- 
anation, although not higher in the air, is more expanded, with 
a compact white centre, resembling the bright nucleus of a minia- 
ture sun. This brilliant central spot is, in very truth, the brain 
of the new spiritual organism now forthcoming. 

' ' The death-cold steals over the heaving breast, and around 
on either side the temperature is greatly diminished. Look now ! 
The psychic emanation contains some proportion of every princi- 
ple composing the soul — motion, life, sensation, ethers, essences, 
vital magnetism, vital electricity, instincts — and, much enlarged 
by accessions, it has floated up in a compact mass, and now oc- 
cupies a higher altitude near the ceiling. 

" Now the lungs have ceased to breathe, the pulse is still, the 
physical heart is motionless ; while the brain cells, the corpus 
callosum, the medulla, and the spinal cord and ganglia, are ablaze 
with contractive and expansive energies, which gently pulsate 
and seem to direct and govern themselves by a kind of automatic 
self-consciousness. See ! The negative (gray) substance of the 
brain is interiorly throbbing — a slow, measured, profoundly 
deep throb — not painful, but massive and harmonious like the 
deep heart-beat of the sea. 

' ' Look up ! The exalted emanation, obedient to its own change- 
less laws, is now elongated, and has attained a position at right 
angles with the horizontal body below. Behold ! See how the 
outline of a beautiful human form is being fashioned within 
that emanation. Beneath it is still tied by a white life-cord to 
the medulla and the corpus callosum within the brain. * * * 

' ' You observe that a very fine vitalic thread still connects the 
vortices and central fibres of the dying brain with the lower ex- 
tremities of the exalted outlined human being in the atmosphere. 



26 A BIOGBAPHY OF • 

Notwithstanding the existence of this life-thread, which acts like 
a telegraphic conductor — conveying messages in opposite direc- 
tions at the same moment — you observe that the shadowy 
image, enveloped in a golden emanation, continues almost im- 
perceptibly to ascend skyward. 

' ' There ! What do I now see ? A symmetrically shaped 
human head rising above the mass — slowly, beautifully rising 
out of the golden cloud of substantial principles. And now ap- 
pear the outlines of a spiritual countenance — - a quiet face and 
full of beauty, surpassing the power of words to delineate. Look 
again ! behold emerging the fair neck and beautiful shoulders ; 
and see ! as we gaze, out come, one after the other, in rapid sue- ■ 
cession, as if influenced and directed by the wand of a magician, 
all the parts of a new body — a bright, natural looking, yet 
spiritual image — only a little less than the deserted physical 
body, a perfect re-appearance of the person in the immediate 
heavens, prepared to accompany the celestial group of superin- 
tending intelligences to the Summerland. 

' ' What was that ? In the twinkling of an eye the vitalic 
electrical telegraphic thread was snapped — the yet lingering 
particles and principles were suddenly attracted upward and 
absorbed into the spiritual body — and lo ! the new organization 
is free of terrestrial gravitations, is instantly and absolutely inde- 
pendent of the weights and cares that chained it firmly imprisoned 
to earth. (Those only are free at death who have lived righteous- 
ly. Any enthralling passion, the least feeling of duty undis- 
charged, of injustice committed, holds the spirit to earth, as a 
ship is fastened by a heavy anchor. Only the pure are free.) 

"Here now behold a true, substantial, immortal, spiritual body. 
It was sown in darkness and dishonor ; it is raised in beauty and 
brightness. 

' ' Behold the contrast — the vastly wide difference — between 
the interior and outward. Cast your eyes around the room. 
There are many friends, aged relatives, and little children, in the 
death chamber ; * * # they mourn, without the comfort even 
of blind faith ; they grieve, with only the whisperings of hope to 
the doubting ear; they gather around the prostrate, cold body; 
they press together the lids of the sightless eyes ; in silence and 
in sorrow they withdraw from the scene ; and now other hands 
commence those final preparations with which the living conse- 
crate the dead. 

' ' But let us open our brighter eyes — the eyes that we shall 
all have when clothed with the deathless garment of immortality. 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 27 

See ! The newly organized spiritual body — surrounded by a group 
of guardian angels — moves gracefully off in the direction of celes- 
tial shores. The arisen personality follows a vibrating thread of 
magnetic attraction, which while the dying mutations were in pro- 
cess we noticed penetrating the apartment and fastening itself to 
the earthly brain of the resurrected. It comes floating down 
from the sensorium of superior intelligences — a golden fibrinous 
stream of telegraphic light — sent from on high, to greet with 
love and guide with wisdom the newly arisen. * * * The 
thought-laden love-thread tranquilly draws the new born higher 
up and farther away. * * * 

' ' Over the velvet lands and flower fields of the celestial country 
the bending bow of eternal promise is visible, filling with inde- 
scribable beauty the boundless ocean of world-laden skies, which 
cover with infinite loveliness the immeasureable zone-lands of the 
Hereafter." 

Here, then, in that lonely sick room at Ports- 
mouth, years before the world had heard this voice 
that lifted the veil, " youth, the perpetual counter- 
part and companion of old age," endeavored to cheer 
the lonely traveller, and the young child, whose 
name was destined to be known among the friends 
of liberal thought the world over,, hung with breath- 
less earnestness over the form of a mother in a phy- 
sical sense soon to be no more. She tells us that 
she saw the brilliant emanation rise and stand above 
the body ; "I thought it was an angel, but it looked 
like my mother. When she turned to go away she . 
appeared to know me, and gazed so kindly upon 
me ; yet she seemed anxious to go, and I was much 
frightened. The room was full of spirits — some 
strange faces, and some whom I had known while 
on earth." 

Though she sometimes saw her mother, — as other 
departed ones — by means of her spiritual percep- 
tions, it was not until she was twenty-two years of 



28 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

age that she received a message from her through 
the organism of another medium. 

VI. 

Her father gave in his adhesion to no form of re- 
ligion, being opposed to the same in every shape, 
but thought, at the time of his wife's decease, that 
some clergyman should be summoned to attend her 
funeral. As before stated, Mrs. Crowell was a mem- 
ber in regular standing in the Baptist Church, though 
she had, previous to her death, fallen under the shade 
of the priestly ban by reason of the strange manifes- 
tations occurring at her house, which were denomi- 
nated by her neighbors " dealings with the devil." 
"When his daughter asked who was to be the parson 
summoned for the observance of the last rites, Peter 
replied : "I suppose her minister ; do you know 
where he lives ? " " Yes," replied Fannie ; where- 
upon she was directed to go and request him to at- 
tend. She repaired to his residence, but when the 
trembling child announced her errand, he positively 
refused to officiate as pastor on the occasion, because 
of the " dealings " aforesaid. 

"Directly," she says, "I felt an entire change in 
my feelings ; a strong disgust took possession of me, 
together with a desire to hick the reverend bigot ; in 
fact, I do not know what restrained me from it. I 
left the house and sat down upon the door-step out- 
side, wondering what I should do. While I sat there, 
the same noble presence who met me on the night 
when I lost my way several years before while, look- 
ing for a physician for my mother, appeared to me, 
and said, kindly : 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 29 

'Little one, go to Mr. Robinson, the Methodist 
preacher; he will come.' 

'But,' said I, ' I do n't know him, or where he lives.' 
'I will show you,' replied the spirit.' ' 
She was then thrown into a trance as before, and 
on regaining consciousness, found herself at the 
door of the minister's residence. She called for the 
gentleman, and when she had explained her errand, 
and told the manner in which she had been treated 
by the Baptist clergyman, Mr. Robinson exclaimed, 
with hearty indignation: "My dear, I am almost 
ashamed to acknowledge that I live in this age ! Cer- 
tainly I will go to your mother's funeral." He did 
attend, and performed the services in a manner at 
once soothing and sympathetic. 

VII. 

Her father procured a housekeeper, and the tide 
of life bore the little lonely one along upon its breast 
to the fulfillment of her mission. She used frequent- 
ly to see spirits, and sometimes heard their voices as 
plainly as those of mortals. She was frequently very 
much frightened because those she saw were stran- 
gers. At intervals she was cheered by the sight of 
her mother. There was no one to reveal to this iso- 
lated child more of the mystery of the law of com- 
munion than her mother had given her in the con- 
versations upon the subject, had while she was on 
earth, for Spiritualism had not yet dawned with 
"healing in its wings," and with but few marked 
exceptions the spirits seen by her seemed as ignorant 
as herself of the proper methods of expression to be 
used. 



30 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

When she arrived at the age of fifteen years, for 
her the current of life deepened, and she was launched 
upon the sea of active labor. She left her childhood 
home by the winding Piscataqua, and went to Lowell, 
Mass. Here she engaged herself as a tailoress, work- 
ing at that business till she attained the age of twen- 
ty, when she was united in marriage with John H. 
Conant, a grandson of Prof. John Hubbard, of Dart- 
mouth College. 

While residing here, she was told by the invisible 
ones, concerning whom she was as yet ignorant save 
as to their palpable existence to her interior percep- 
tions, that the line of descent to be traced in the his- 
tory of her progenitors was extremely interesting : 
that her great grandfather, known to the whites as 
" Swift-Foot," was an Indian chief of renown in the 
early history of the New World, his name, Quinsiga- 
mond — still borne by a fine sheet of water in Massa- 
chusetts — serving as a memento of his high place 
among men ; that he was married to a French Cana- 
dian woman, the grandmother of Peter Crowell being 
the result of that union ; that this daughter's Indian 
name was Meona, her English, Betsey; that she was 
in turn married to an individual bearing the name of 
Crowell — or as it should be, Cromwell, for he was 
a descendant of one of the three Cromwells, Thomas, 
William and John, "who left England during the 
time of Charles II. These three brothers, on leav- 
ing the mother country, were never heard of after- 
ward, but Mrs. Conant was assured by the spirits 
that they came to America, and could be traced as 
far as their settlement in Canada, where the m in 
their name was suppressed by them that they might 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 31 

not be known. One of their descendants, as afore- 
said, settling in life, married the Indian girl Meona, 
or Betsey, Peter, Fannie's father, being the child of 
that union. Thus in direct line — though by aid of 
spirit perception and information rather than mortal 
— the medium was enabled to trace her descent on 
one side from the English Cromwells, and on the 
other from a chief of the American Indians. • Of this 
peculiar extraction she was kept in ignorance till just 
previous to her marriage, when she discovered it, 
and, determined to prove the truth or falsity of the 
report, wrote to her father in Portsmouth; from 
words received in return, further inquiries in other 
localities, and the recalling of little memories of her 
early childhood, she was enabled to fix a material cer- 
tainty to her descent on one side from the aborigines, 
and was thus led to give full credence to the asser- 
tions of her mysterious attendants as regarded the 
others. She was able, among other things, to recall 
to mind that on a certain occasion when she was very 
young, her father went to visit his mother, who was 
then living in the northern part of Vermont, and, 
returning, brought her many articles of skillful In- 
dian workmanship as presents from her grandmother. 
These she had exhibited in childish triumph to all 
who visited the house, exclaiming, " My grandmother 
made these," till her mother, who seemed not to relish 
the relationship to the red man, thus so fully avowed, 
had taken them from her and hidden them. She was 
never able to discover the fate of these little offerings, 
to which in after years she would have attached inesti- 
mable value, but the circumstance was to her a strong 
link in the chain of conviction. 



PART II. 



SHE BECOMES A PUBLIC MEDIUM. 



PART II. 



" By that world of beauty, 

And by that life of love, 
And by the holy angels 

Who listen now above, 
I pledge my soul's endeavor 

To do whate'er I can 
To bless my sister woman, 

And aid my brother man." — Lizzie Doten. 

I. 

In the year 1851 she left Lowell, and, with her 
husband, came to reside at the North End of Boston. 
Here her health, never robust, gave way, and she 
was again prostrated by sickness. Dr. Tobey, a well 
known physician, was summoned to attend her, who 
in view of the exigencies of the case, prescribed a 
certain preparation of morphine — he being at the 
time, unfortunately, under the influence of stimu- 
lants. Mr. Conant obtained the prescription, as or- 
dered, from a neighboring apothecary, and it was ad-' 
ministered, per directions, to his wife. The amount 
written down by Dr. Tobey proved to be a large 
overdose ; she was thrown into a semi-unconscious 
state, and began to sink so rapidly as to alarm all 
those residing in the house. Mr. Conant imme- 
diately proceeded to the doctor's office to apprise 

35 



36 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

him of the fact. He inquired concerning the medi- 
cine and its effect — became agitated, and hurried 
to the sick chamber. A glance told him that 
there was some mistake in the remedy administered, 
and the imminent danger of his patient immediately 
sobered him. He doubted that he had prescribed so 
much, and was utterly confounded when, on apply- 
ing to the druggist, he found the prescription filed in 
his own handwriting — the apothecary meanwhile as- 
suring him that he should not have put up the medi- 
cine in such quantity had he not known him well, 
and supposed that he was acquainted with his busi- 
ness. Dr. Tobey said there was no help for Mrs. 
Conant — she must die. She, however, told him 
that she should not. During the absence of her 
husband in search of the physician, the second time, 
Mrs. C. had been mysteriously aroused from the 
deathly stupor — her body was shaken, involuntarily 
as it seemed, and a series of shocks, as from an elec- 
tric battery, passed through her frame ; she then 
began to speak, and prescribed for herself as she had 
done frequently before at Portsmouth in her child- 
hood. The medicine, which was something of a 
simple nature, had been given to her, and by its in- 
fluence, while the terrified physician stood by her 
side anticipating her speedy dissolution, perspiration 
'began to set in, and witnessing this sign of return- 
ing power — though ignorant of its cause — he de- 
clared, with great relief to his mind, that she would 
yet survive. Although neither herself nor the parties 
in the house were at that time disposed to attribute 
the cure to the agency of spirits — by reason of want 
of information on the subject — yet in after years she 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 37 

was told, through the organism of a medium, Wil- 
liam Rice, whom she had never before seen, and who 
was a perfect stranger to the facts in the case, that 
she had been restored through the efforts of Di\ Kit- 
tredge, an old physician of her native town, who had 
been several years in the spirit world. 

Nature rallied, and she rapidly recovered. When 
she regained full consciousness, she remembered that 
she seemed to have been in some beautiful place, she 
thought was heaven. Here she met the mother who 
left her in earlier years, and when she wept and 
begged to be allowed to stay with her, her parent 
gently but firmly told her that she must return to 
earth life — that she had yet a mission to perform — 
and her poor tempest-tossed bark was again obliged 
to put to sea from out the haven of peace where it 
hoped to rest ; but blessed were the assurances she 
received, that in due time she should again and finally 
cast anchor amid the golden sand that sparkles in 
the river of Paradise. 

II. 

At the age of twenty-one she was attacked by a 
severe illness, pronounced by the physicians to be 
consumption of the blood, and no hope of restoration 
appeared for her. She remained for a long time under 
the care of several prominent medical men of Boston, 
but received no help, and her journey of life seemed 
about to end. While in this condition, a lady, Mrs. 
Bryant, with whom she was boarding, asked her: 
" Why do n't you try a medium ? " This was in the 
incipient stage of public spirit communion, and Mrs. 
Conant had not as yet considered the subject of Spirit- 



38 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

ualism, as a definite thing. " A medium ! " she ex- 
claimed, " what is a medium ? " 

" A person," replied Mrs. Bryant, " through whom 
spirits — or dead folks — can come to talk with their 
friends in earth life. I can introduce you to a fine 
one, who has worked many wonderful cures." 

"Well," responded Mrs. C, "there seems to be 
no hope from the doctors, and I will try, though I 
have no expectation of receiving any good from it." 

Mrs. Bryant then introduced her to Miss Anna 
Richardson, aged some fifteen or sixteen years, who 
was a medium of great promise in those days. Mrs. 
C. took her seat, the medium became entranced, and 
then for the first time, in a practical sense, she dis- 
covered what her own powers denoted. Dr. John 
Dix Fisher, an old Boston physician, controlled Miss 
Richardson, as a medical adviser, and, after carefully 
considering Mrs. C.'s malady, said: 

"Your casS has been pronounced hopeless, but I 
do not consider it so. If you will obey my instruc- 
tions, and do what I require in payment, in three 
weeks I will have you well ; but I shall charge you 
what perhaps you will call a heavy fee." 

Mrs. Conant answered that she had not much to 
pay with, as she was not possessed of pecuniary 
means, to which she supposed he referred. 

" I will state my terms," he said, " and then 3-011 
may decide as to whether you can meet them, or not. 
You have some of the finest mediumistic powers that 
I have ever seeji, and the world ought to have the 
full benefit of them." 

"7/" exclaimed Mrs. C. 

" Most certainly," returned the spirit physician ; 



MRS. J. IT. CONANT. 39 

" You are yet to be a remarkable medium if you will 
give your consent." He then proceeded to render a 
correct synopsis of her past life and experiences, fully 
explaining those sights, sounds, and occurrences which 
had been so strange to her from childhood. These, 
he informed her, were perceived and recognized in 
consequence of her mediumistic capacity of discern- 
ment. While she sat rapt in astonishment at the 
revelation, the spirit continued : 

"You are a spirit medium, and the fee I require 
in consideration of your case, is that you will give 
your powers to the world hereafter." 

Still failing to understand the proposition, Mrs. 
Conant said, " What do you mean by giving my 
powers to the world? " 

"By becoming a public medium," rejoined Dr. 
Fisher : " I want you for a medium, myself, and this 
is the fee I exact for your cure." 

After some hesitation, in which wonder and anxiety 
were nearly balanced in her mind, she replied : ( ' Well, 
Doctor, I will pay the fee.'" The spirit physician then 
began working for her benefit, and in three weeks* 
from that date — as he predicted in commencing the 
case — his medicines had wrought such a perceptible 
improvement in her, that all her friends united in 
declaring they should not recognize her as the same 
person they had known previous to the commence- 
ment of his treatment. 

III. 

The Doctor then prepared for business with his 
new medium, and as an introductory step, by writing 
through her hand while entranced, demanded that 
she should change her place of abode, not giving any 



40 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

particular reason for it at the time — though the ben- 
efit was afterward apparent — but seeming to wish to 
test her confidence in him. She indicated her will- 
ingness to comply, but when he directed her to go to 
a certain place on Hanover Street, Boston, which she 
knew to be a large and very popular boarding-house, 
where rooms were rarely, if ever, vacant, she did not 
entertain much faith that her errand would be suc- 
cessful. She however called at the house, saw the 
landlady, Mrs. M. E. Cates, and was told, as she an- 
ticipated, that there was not a vacant apartment 
therein. The landlady desired to know who recom- 
mended her to come, and upon Mrs. Conant's telling 
her (after some misgivings concerning Mrs. Cates's 
belief in her sanity,) that John Dix Fisher, a " dead 
doctor," had sent her there, she exclaimed: 

" Oh, Dr. Fisher told you to come, did he ? Then 
there must be something in it. He always has a rea- 
son for what he does ; he would not have sent you 
here if he had not seen that I was soon to have a 
vacancy. Call again to-morrow, and we will see 
what can be done." 

It appeared that the landlady, and many of her 
patrons were firm believers in the new doctrine of 
spirit return — that George A. Redman, the cele- 
brated medium, was at that time in the house, giving 
public seances for physical manifestations every even- 
ing, and that Dr. Fisher had thus introduced his me- 
dium — unwittingly to her&elf — into a congenial 
home. That very evening, Mr. Redman called upon 
the landlady and gave notice that as he was in a short 
time to remove his office further " up town," his room 
would be vacant. Upon Mrs. Conant's calling next 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 41 

day she was so informed, and securing it, was at once 
the possessor of a location, already magnetized by the 
presence of a powerful medium and the oft-repeated 
seances which had been held there ; an advantage 
which, however hidden to the skeptic, will be im- 
mediately apparent to those at all conversant with 
the delicacy of the conditions necessary for successful 
and easy control. 

iv. 

Dr. Fisher now desired her to commence her me- 
diumistic duties, as per agreement. She resisted for 
awhile, but yielded at last and began serving him as 
a public instrument for medical examinations and 
prescriptions, having wonderful success in all the 
cases undertaken, and being from the first, literally 
overburdened with employment. At this house the 
most singular manifestations occurred in her presence, 
both of a mental and physical character. At first it 
was found that the magnetic aid of the sister of the 
landlady — Martha Smith — was necessary — she 
serving as a battery to supply the vital force re- 
quired for spirit manifestations — but in time Mrs. 
C. became developed to such an extent in medium- 
istic power as to no longer require her presence. A 
gentleman boarding at the house was also found to 
be similarly gifted, and with such a degree of strength 
that it was inadvisable for himself and Mrs. Conant 
to sit at the dinner table at the same time. When- 
ever such a circumstance occurred the table was vio- 
lently lifted, or rocked from side to side in a manner 
suggestive of dining on shipboard in a heavy gale. 
Therefore when Mr. Conant and his lady drew near 
the table it was their custom to see if the gentleman 



42 A BIOGBAPHY OF 

medium was already there, in which, case they re- 
mained in waiting till he had retired — the same 
course being adopted by the other party. 

The first person who came to test her capacity as 
a physician, was a medical gentleman from Bridge- 
water, Mass., who was desirous of settling in his 
mind, beyond doubt, the verity or falsity of spirit 
return. He had heard that Dr. Fisher controlled 
her, and as he had been acquainted with him while 
in earth life (haying been a college classmate of Dr. 
F.'s) he determined to convince himself as to the 
correctness of the report. At the close of the sitting 
— during all of which Mrs. Conant was unconsciously 
entranced — he told her that he had propounded to 
the influence speaking, a regular series of questions 
similar to those put by a medical board to an appli- 
cant who desired fellowship as a physician, and that 
every one had received a correct answer. This fact, 
together with the giving of various items of infor- 
mation, of which the medium could have had no 
knowledge, greatly astonished him. 

"Are you satisfied?-" asked Mrs. Conant. 

" I am sure that I have been talking with John 
Dix Fisher, and nobody else," he replied. 

V. 

The astonishing power of penetration possessed by 
the spirit physician regarding the troubles of those 
yet in the form was soon evinced in an unexpected 
manner, and concerning a much dreaded matter. 
A young lady residing in the same house with Mrs. 
Conant began to be ill, exhibiting mysterious symp- 
toms, and Mrs. Cates desired the medium to give 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 43 

her a medical examination. Dr. Fisher, having care- 
fully diagnosed the case through her, declared the 
patient to be suffering from small-pox in its incipient 
stage. The inmates of the house became alarmed, 
and demanded that a regular physician should be. 
summoned. Dr. Ayer, who lived not far off, was 
called in, and gave it as his opinion that the girl had 
only a bad cold — " he couldn't help what the ' dead 
doctor ' said, it was nonsense to call it small pox." 
Dr. Fisher then controlled Mrs. Conant, and sent a 
message to his medical critic to the following effect : 
" Tell Dr. Ayer, that in two hours Nature will settle 
the case." In two hours, as he had predicted, the 
patient exhibited unmistakeable signs of the disease, 
and Dr. Ayer was obliged to concur with the unseen 
practitioner — which he did in a half scornful way, 
saying with a laugh : " Of course the ' dead doctor ' 
could see inside a person better than I could." 

Several other instances of the disease came up for 
consideration in the house, and as she was constantly 
surrounded by investigators and seekers after medi- 
cal advice, from 9 o'clock A. M., to sometimes late at 
night, it became necessary that the small pox patients 
be removed for the safety of her visitors. When the 
time arrived for their departure, Dr. Fisher gave 
orders concerning their transportation, and the meas- 
ures to be observed for cleansing the house, (which 
arrangements were implicitly carried out.) He then 
directed Mrs. Conant to lock her door, and to refuse 
to allow the lady who was having a sitting at the 
time he came, to leave until he reported that all was 
right; alleging that if his requirements were fol- 
lowed no trouble would ensue, and that the disease 



44 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

should be stayed, as far as this particular dwelling 
was concerned. Mrs. Conant obeyed with regard to 
the door, but the lady, after satisfying her curiosity, 
was very desirous of retiring from the room, and as 
. no word of release came from the spirit physician, 
the anxiety of the medium increased to perturbation, 
which was finally dispelled by his writing through 
her hand that all was well, that the patients had 
been removed, that he had so prepared the house 
that the lady could safely go out, and that no one 
would hereafter be in danger of taking the disease 
by coming therein. Subsequent events did not dis- 
prove the truth of his assertion, although the disease 
was very prevalent in the neighborhood. 

The "dead doctor "was speedily summoned, on 
account of this success, to treat several patients for 
this malignant malady. At such times as he made 
visits to them, he would thoroughly entrance his 
medium, call at the house in question, make his pre- 
scription, and take her home again — she all the 
while unconscious of what she would have consid- 
ered her dangerous errand. At one time he thus at- 
tended five cases, all of which terminated favorably. 
In one instance, however, by reason of some unex- 
plained circumstance, he lost control of Mrs. Conant 
while at the bedside of one of these small pox pa- 
tients ; she, gaining a knowledge of her position, and 
seized with a deadly fear of contagion, ran home with 
the utmost speed, Mrs. Cates met her in the hall 
of the house, exclaiming, "What is the matter?" 
but Mrs. Conant was only able to ejaculate some- 
thing about " small pox " as she hurriedly sought 
her apartment. The landlady, who was herself a 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. ^5 

medium, followed her to her room, and, after some 
time, succeeded in magnetizing her so that she be- 
came quiet. Dr. Fisher then resumed control of his 
medium and informed the landlady that there was 
not the slightest danger of Mrs. Conant's taking the 
disease herself, or imparting it to others — that she 
was perfectly shielded from it by the power of her 
invisible guardians. 

VI. 

The public reception room of Mrs. Conant, at about 
this time, began to be the scene of very unique phys- 
ical manifestations, varied in character as to violence 
or quiet humor ; some of the most important of which 
are here recorded. The table used for her sittings 
was of oak, three feet six inches in length, and very 
heavy. When the company sat around it in the 
circle, sometimes it would be made so light by the 
agency of the spirits, that Mrs. Conant could lift it 
with one hand ; at others, the same table was ren- 
dered so heavy that four men found it impossible to 
raise it from the floor. It would frequently — and 
sometimes without warning, when no seance was 
being held — be tipped at an angle of 45 deg., while 
the pens, paper, ink, and other paraphernalia which 
covered it, would be held in place — not an article 
falling upon the carpet. The individuals generally 
composing her circle were finally told that if they 
had the patience to sit and wait for the manifesta- 
tion, they should see clearly-defined spirit forms. 
They announced themselves possessed of a sufficiency 
of that quality. One evening when a party of six 
were gathered around the table, the promise was re- 
newed, and all those present became quiet save Mrs, 



46 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

Conant, who found it impossible to do so by reason 
of the magnetic draught which was kept up upon her 
vital powers. The party continued to wait patiently 
from six P. M., to twelve o'clock, midnight, and at 
last, as if to reward their faith or persistence, there 
suddenly appeared behind Mrs. Conant what seemed 
a fleecy cloud of steam or light smoke, luminous and 
bright. It rose gradually, expanding itself into a 
pillar-like form some five feet in height, when it 
slowly parted, disclosing a human figure, which 
bowed to them and smiled — the lips moved, but 
gave forth no sound. The apparition remained in 
plain sight of all present — including Mrs. Conant, 
who turned around in order to view it — long enough 
to be fully cognized as to details of countenance and 
drapery, and then became enveloped again in misti- 
ness ; the cloud of steam or smoke, which before 
curtained it, closed around it ; it sank gradually down 
to the floor and disappeared. It bore the aspect of a 
beautiful female, and an enthusiastic member of the 
company said : 

. " I feel like imitating the disciples of Jesus on the 
Mount of Transfiguration, and saying : Let us build 
two tabernacles — one for the spirit and one for the 
medium ! " 

The table then ascended high above the heads of 
the circle. The company arose and sang the old 

melody — 

" Come holy spirit, heavenly dove," — 

The table keeping time to the music "by swaying to 
and fro. The greater part of the manifestations oc- 
curring in presence of Mrs. Conant, took place in a 
brilliantly illuminated room, but on this occasion the 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 47 

lights were turned clown so as to render objects bare- 
ly visible — the electric rays furnished by the spirits 
themselves then completed the illumination so that 
all forms, such as the above, together with faces, 
arms, and hands were distinctly apparent. 

Another manifestation of a seemingly violent char- 
acter would often take place : Mrs. Conant would be 
requested to take her seat upon the top of a small 
round table — similar to the bouquet stands now in 
use — and while there the invisible powers would 
furiously rock the frail support as if to dislodge her, 
but she was not allowed to fall from it in a single in- 
stance. At the close of this manifestation she would 
frequently be lifted by the spirits in a direct line from 
the top of the table, and come- to the floor, without 
injury, behind a sofa which was arranged across one 
corner of the apartment where the stances were held. 

VII. 

Sometimes the more mischievous order of invisibles 
— for the experience of the investigator of the present 
day shows that all classes of minds exist in the un- 
seen world, as here in mortal — would play various 
pranks at her expense, creating in many cases merri- 
ment, and in some a perplexed state of mind. Upon 
the table in the room where she held her public and 
private sittings, she had placed a bell, together with 
a written request, or notice, " Ring ! " to those who 
might enter the apartment in the event of her ab- 
sence in any other part of the house. This apart- 
ment was situated up three flights of stairs from the 
street, and on numerous occasions, after descending 
them, the medium would hear a warning note from 



48 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

the bell, and hastening back would find — no one ! 
This was repeatedly done, when persons were on the 
watch to see that no mortal was in her room. She 
would frequently find the door of her apartment 
locked by the passing of the bolt upon the inside, 
when she arrived at the top of the stairs, and could 
not enter till it was unlocked from within, when the 
closest scrutiny failed to discover any person con- 
cealed, and escape was impossible without detection, 
the great height from the ground precluding egress 
by the windows, and the door through which she 
passed, being the only avenue by which to safely quit 
the room. On several occasions, on meeting those 
who desired sittings, as they ascended the stairs, 
she would be obliged to inform them that she was 
locked out — that " the spirits " had possession ot her 
room, and she must wait till they saw fit to open the 
door. Looks of incredulity would speedily appear 
on the faces of said investigators, and as soon as the 
door was unlocked, some of them would spring into 
the apartment and search vigorously for the person 

who withdrew the bolt, but always without success. 

f 

VIII. 

On one occasion a party of seven gentlemen fa- 
vored her with a call for a seance. They were 
placed, as usual, around the table in the light, with 
the medium, and all sat in silence — no manifesta- 
tions occurring — for half an hour, at the expiration 
of which time Mrs. Conant, becoming impatient at 
the long delay, called on Dr. Fisher to know the 
reason. He immediately took control of her hand 
and wrote : "If these gentlemen will become honest 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 49 

investigators, and throw off all their disguise, we will 
do what we can to give them satisfactory manifesta- 
tions." This missive she read to them, and they 
greeted it with laughter, after which they proceeded 
to remove the various means they had assumed of 
preserving a physical incog. ; such as false whiskers, 
spectacles, etc., etc., and when the transformation 
scene was completed, she found that she could not 
recognise a countenance before her as belonging to 
any of the seven individuals who sat at the table 
before the edict of the spirit physician was promul- 
gated. They then declared themselves as honest 
investigators, and Dr. Fisher went on to say: "You 
will now allow me to introduce you to my medium ;" 
they stoutly declared that they desired no such 
honor, Mrs. Conant also said she did not wish an 
introduction, but the incorrigible spirit went on to 
give their names — correctly in every instance — 
much to their astonishment. They proved to be some 
of the "grave and reverend" city fathers, who, de- 
siring to see if any good could come out of the Naza- 
reth of Spiritualism, had chosen the Mcodemian path 
to that knoAvledge, but had, been (at least so far as 
the medium was concerned) brought to light despite 
their disguise. 

As the result of their obedience to the conditions 
required by the spirits — which example it would be 
well for skeptics, generally, to follow at the present 
day, instead of endeavoring to block the wheels by 
unreasoning demands — a most remarkable sitting 
occurred, and all the manifestations they desired were 
promptly given. This occurrence made such an im- 
pression upon the minds of these gentlemen that they 



50 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

determined to have additional experience, if possible. 
They accordingly asked Mrs. Conant if she would 
give a seance in another house and room — the 
same to be selected by themselves — they evidently 
having an idea that by some means unknown to them, 
her room had been fitted foi the performance of the 
manifestations. She replied that she was willing to 
try the experiment. Accordingly the gentlemen pro- 
ceeded to obtain the use of a house then vacant, on 
Joy Street at the West End of Boston, and fitted one 
of the parlors temporarily for the sitting. A heavy 
walnut extension table and a sufficient number of 
chairs alone composed the furniture of the room or 
the house. At the appointed time in the afternoon a 
carriage sent by them conveyed Mrs. Conant and 
Martha Smith to the designated locality, where all 
were awaiting their arrival, full of high expectations 
of " exploding the humbug " as their vigorous ver- 
nacular conveyed it. The medium was full of anxiety, 
and earnestly hoped that if possible, the spirits would 
accomplish more startling results than usual. She 
had previous to this seance heard of a negro spirit of 
great power, calling himself " Big Dick," who gave 
the strongest physical manifestations through the 
mediumship of George A. Redman and others, and 
she desired Dr. Fisher to secure his services for the 
occasion. Although he objected at first to her com- 
ing en rapjjort with such an influence, he finally con- 
sented to remove his opposition, and "Big Dick" 
made his appearance — through his works at least — 
producing the most convincing exhibits of invisible 
force, and performing feats of strength far beyond the 
united power of the medium and all present. The 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 51 

gentlemen in attendance desired that the table be 
lifted to the ceiling, to which the spirit replied in the 
affirmative, providing Mrs. Conant would sit upon it. 
She did so, and the table at once began to gradually 
ascend. Four of the party laid hands on it, and ex- 
erted themselves to the utmost to keep it down, but 
it easily broke from their grasp, and reached the top 
of the apartment, so that the medium was able to 
write her name upon the ceiling above her head. 
All the party then seized the table by its legs, and 
endeavored to pull it down, but in vain, until Mrs. 
Conant — who, between the danger of being pressed 
against the wall overhead by the spirit's exertions to 
draw it away from the gentlemen, and the peril of 
slipping from the table to the floor, by reason of the 
tipping caused by the struggle to draw it down — 
became alarmed, when the spirit lost control of the 
heavier body, and the table came crashing to the 
floor, being somewhat broken by the fall. Mrs. C, 
however, was not harmed, as she was slowly let down 
among the ruins of her former seat, and quietly con- 
fronted the amazed skeptics, who anticipated for her 
some severe bodily injury. This circle, occurring 
like the other, in the full glare of day, seemed to be 
perfectly satisfactory to the investigators, who, after 
a playful parley with the spirits as to who should pay 
for the table, (Dr. Fisher assuring them that they 
must — which they did) — dissolved the meeting. 

At the conclusion of the seance the medium found 
herself obliged to pay the penalty of overruling the 
desire of her spirit physician, for " Big Dick " fol- 
lowed her home, very unexpectedly, and, when her 
husband and herself had retired for the night, com- 



52 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

menced amusing himself with various antics, which, 
while they were probably sources of enjoyment for 
him, did not meet the approbation of the servant 
girls who were in a room near by, but had not yet 
fallen asleep. These came rushing en deshabille to 
the landlady, full of fear, declaring that the house was 
being torn down by the " devil " who was at work in 
Mrs. Conant's apartment. The confusion continued 
— tables and chairs were upset, and the bed was vio- 
lently rocked, upon which Mr. Conant and wife arose, 
the former (who was not in the least mediumistic) 
declaring that it was best to be " out of it," and that 
he meant to see what was the cause of the disturbance. 
Mrs. Cates, being admitted, advised Mrs. Conant to 
summon Dr. Fisher, for an explanation, and they ac- 
cordingly sat at a table, which they raised from its 
overturned position on the floor, for the purpose. The 
spirit physician at once came, recalling to the mind 
of his medium the fact that he had strongly objected 
to her coming en rapport with " Big Dick," and say- 
ing that as she had insisted on doing so, she must 
abide by the consequences. Finding she must settle 
the matter herself, the medium at once, on the recom- 
mencement of the disturbance (which occurred as 
soon as Dr. Fisher had retired from control) opened 
a conversation with the unruly spirit, telling him in 
a way that appealed to his reason that, on all proper 
occasions she would be happy to meet with him, but 
that at the present time he was greatly annoying the 
occupants of the house, and she would prefer that he 
depart. He appeared to listen, as any one would 
while yet in the body, and, at the conclusion of her 
remonstrance, went away, giving h.er no further 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 53 

trouble. That the inmates of the house might see 
the tangible results of this nocturnal visit, Mrs. 
Conant allowed everything in her room to remain 
undisturbed in the position in which the spirit left 
it (save the table mentioned above) till next day, 
and morning revealed a most extraordinary state of 
confusion, as to furniture, in her apartment. "Big 
Dick " came to her at different times, at subsequent 
periods, and was so violent that she was often fright- 
ened at his exhibitions of strength. She was there- 
fore much gratified when he at length took his final 
leave of her. 



PART III 



REMARKABLE MENTAL AND PHYSICAL 
MANIFESTATIONS. 



PART III. 



"Well done, thou watcher on the lonely tower! 
Is the day breaking ? dawns the happy hour ? 
We pine to see it: — tell us, yet again, 
If the broad daylight breaks upon the plain ? 

" It breaks — it comes — the misty shadows fly ; — 
A rosy radiance gleams along the sky ; 
•The mountain tops reflect it calm and clear ; 
The p lain is yet in shade, but day is near." 

— Charles Mackay. 



The writing phase of Mrs. Conant's mediumship 
now became very strongly marked. She would fre- 
quently transcribe the thoughts or desires of two in- 
visibles at the same time — one using her right, the 
other her left hand. Sometimes while her medical 
control, Dr. Fisher, was writing out his prescriptions 
with one, the other hand would be engaged in an- 
swering the questions of a visitor ; thus indicating 
that the mind of the medium had -not the slightest 
connection with these dual manifestations of intelli- 
gence. Another phase of mediumistic development 
soon made its appearance in her case, being the 
power of discerning hidden things, and giving infor- 
mation regarding lost articles. As an instance in 
point, a gentleman boarding in the house, came one 
day to the landlady and said : 

"Mrs. Cates, I have lost some money from my 
room ; this is the third time it has happened. I want 

57 



58 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

to know whether the spirits can tell me anything 
about it." 

Advised by Mrs. Cates, he made a visit to Mrs. 
Conant's room, in the upper part of the house, and 
asked for a sitting. He was immediately informed, 
by the influence controlling her hand, that the lost 
sums could be recovered. " Call the landlady," next 
directed the spirit. Mrs. Cates was summoned, 
" Follow the medium " was the written order, and 
the exploring party of three, set out upon its errand. 

" Where am I going ? " demanded Mrs. C 

" We will tell you," replied the guides, in whom 
she had implicit trust. She led the way to the gen- 
tleman's room, went up to the bed, which was situated 
in one corner, wheeled it around, and, stripping back 
some two yards of the carpet on the floor beneath it, 
displayed to the astonished eyes of Mrs. Cates and 
her boarder three rolls of bills there concealed, say- 
ing to the gentleman : " There is your money." 

" Who put it there ? " he asked. 

The spirits replied that they would tell him if he 
would promise to give good advice to the thief, and 
not deal harshly, but as Jesus would have acted 
under similar circumstances. This he promised to 
do, when he was informed that the theft had been 
accomplished by the chambermaid of the house. The 
spirits advised Mrs. Cates not to discharge her, and 
thus throw her into the world with the taint of sus- 
picion fixed upon her character, but to take her to 
her room and talk to her in such a manner- as to dis- 
suade her from the evil course she was pursuing. 
The lady did as directed, and was rewarded by the 
penitent expressions of the girl, who acknowledged 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 



59 



that she took the money and concealed it where she 
thought no one would think of looking for it — in- 
tending to go after it when the excitement concern- 
ing its loss had subsided ; she faithfully promised to 
avoid such operations in future, and was ever after, 
an exemplary person — thus, as well as the gentle- 
man, receiving substantial benefit from the medium- 
istic powers of Mrs. Conant ; being turned by the 
gentle means the spirits counseled from the winding 
path of duplicity to the fair though rugged road of 
honesty in all things. 

On another occasion, something having been lost in 
the house, Mrs. Conant was requested to find it. She 
was led by her invisible friends to the room occupied 
by the person who had taken it, and immediately 
charged said individual with the theft, but being 
met with a stout denial she went up to the bed, and 
opening it, displayed the stolen article hidden be- 
tween two mattresses, greatly to the confusion of the 
abstractor, who evidently supposed the place of con- 
cealment to be beyond the probability of human skill 
to detect. But like others, this individual had for- 
gotten that, as the Apostle to the Gentiles informs us, 
"We * * * are compassed about with * * * a cloud 
of witnesses," though unseen to the eye of the flesh, 
and was ignorant that the time had come when their 
celestial voices were proclaiming to earthly media, as 
of old the Nazarene did to the wondering twelve, 
"What we tell you in darkness, that speak ye in 
light ; and what ye hear in the ear, that preach ye 
upon the housetop." 



60 A BIOGKAPHY OF 



II. 

An aunt of Mrs. Cates, Mrs. White, had occasion 
to visit the house while on a journey from Maine, 
her native State, but so much afraid was she of " the 
spirits," and so great a dread did she entertain of the 
communion so common with them among the mem- 
bers of the household, that she dare not see Mrs. 
Conant, and used to dart hurriedly past the door of 
her apartment in going down stairs. The medium 
greatly desired to persuade the lady to come to her 
room, as she was satisfied that she possessed a fine 
organization suited to the production of physical 
manifestations, though ignorant herself of her pow- 
ers. She mentioned her desire to the landlady, who 
shook her head, saying: "Aunt Betsey is too sharp 
for you." But after some days of waiting, the looked- 
for opportunity presented itself. The old lady was 
ascending the stairs, and as she came opposite her 
door, Mrs. Conant appeared and insisted upon her en- 
tering. Not wishing, under the circumstances, to ap- 
appear impolite, "Aunt Betsey" ventured across the 
threshold, all the while casting furtive glances around, 
evidently expecting to see a fearful vision, or to en- 
counter some blood-curdling spiritual monstrosity ; but 
all remaining quiet, she grew reassured, and took a 
seat. Mrs. Conant immediately bolted the door to pre- 
vent her egress, and then commenced a general conver- 
sation upon the city and its mode of life as contrasted 
with that of the country, gradually turning it upon 
the question of Spiritualism. Her guest joined in the 
exchange of views, and as they sat thus, passive to 
spirit agency, to the astonishment of both, " Aunt 



MRS. J. H. COXAXT. Gl 

Betsey " — ; who was a powerful woman, and a heavy 
one as well — began to be raised np, till at least a 
foot above the floor was reached, when she remained 
suspended in the air. 

"Aunt Betsey" exclaimed Mrs. Conant: "what 
are you doing? where are your feet? " 

" Oh, child, you have bewitched me," gasped the 
frightened woman. 

"No," replied Mrs. C, " it is done by the power 
of the spirits." 

The lady — whose weight was at least two hundred 
pounds — remained thus suspended for about a min- 
ute, and then descended slowly to the floor. " Aunt 
Betsey," said the resident medium, " if the spirits 
can do that, let us see what else they can accomplish. 
Perhaps they can write for you." The two then sat 
down at the table, putting their hands upon it, the 
visitor having previously been supplied by Mrs. 
C. with a pencil and sheet of paper. The old lady's 
hand was at once controlled, and a fine message 
written for Mrs. Conant, signed: "From one of 
your spirit guides, Prof. John Hubbard," (as pre- 
viously stated the grandfather of her husband.) All 
this was accomplished, notwithstanding the fears of 
" Aunt Betsey," and her opposition to Spiritualism 
in the abstract. 

III. 

The mother of Mrs. Cates, who was a regular res- 
ident at the house, was an enthusiastic believer in 
the new gospel of spirit communion. One evening 
during a visit paid by her to Mrs. Conant, a work bas- 
ket upon the table was violently hurled to the floor by 
some invisible agency, and its contents scattered in 



62 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

confusion around. Grown bold by her familiarity 
with the various phases of spirit manifestations, the 
medium immediately commanded : 

" Let whoever threw down that basket, pick it up 
and put it on the table." 

At once the various misplaced articles were taken, 
one by one, from the floor, and placed in the basket 
in sight of both ladies — the room being well lighted 
at the time — and when the task was completed, 
the basket was returned to the table. Mrs. Conant 
then demanded the name of the spirit performing the 
act, and upon its being written through her hand, 
her visitor exclaimed : 

" Why, J knew that man ! " 

" Yes ; I guess you did," he rejoined. " You owe 
me half a dollar ! " 

The old lady protested that she took care of the 
man in his last sickness, that she did much for him, 
and that if there ivas. any balance in the case it was 
in her favor, not his. He then beo:an to exhibit con- 
siderable violence, disturbing the table and chairs to 
such a degree that the visitor became much fright- 
ened, whereupon the uproarious spirit proceeded to 
transcribe : 

" Pray away, old lady — pray, but God's asleep; 
he do n't hear you ! " 

The woman's terror increased, and she acknowl- 
edged to Mrs. Conant that she was mentally praying 
for protection, when he wrote that message to her. 
She desired to escape from the presence of such a 
powerful ill-wisher, and so proceeded to think of a 
movement toward the. door. Upon the table rested 
two lamps, and the candle which she had brought 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 63 

with her when she entered the room, was also there ; 
said table continued to rock violently, but as yet, 
neither had fallen on the floor. Fearing lest the 
undeveloped spirit, in his evident anger, would pre- 
cipitate such a catastrophe, the old lady, as she sat 
by the table seized the lanyps in her hands, when her 
unseen persecutor materialized a spirit hand, and 
with the quickness of thought threw the candle upon 
her lap, writing at the same time, through the medi- 
umship of Mrs. Con ant : 

" There, old woman, take the candle, too, if you 
have n't got light enough ! '' 

The hand was distinctly visible to both individuals 
present. After a season the excitement of the spirit 
became allayed, and he departed. 

During her residence at the house of Mrs. Cates, 
Mrs. Conant frequently suffered from ill health, but 
was carefully watched over by her unseen friends, 
and her every request complied with. On several 
occasions, when she desired it, a glass of lemonade, 
placed upon a stand in the room, would be brought 
to her, held to her lips while she drank, and then 
replaced. She did not always see the agent who 
brought it, but could perceive the glass approaching 
her through the air. The windows would be raised 
or closed by the invisibles at her desire. She was 
able, by their assistance, to pass her hand through 
the flame of a gas jet without experiencing any pain, 
or receiving a burn ; paper also was treated in the 
same manner, and came out without even the smell 
of fire upon it. 

"With reference to these early manifestations, and 
also those recorded in subsequent pages, the reader 



64 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

— skeptic or otherwise — will remember that they 
are not founded on hearsay evidence, but are tran- 
scribed at the dictation of Mrs. Conant herself, and 
can all be attested by the most credible living wit- 
nesses — many of whom, including Mrs. Cates so 
often referred to, are still residing in Boston and 
vicinity. 

IV. 

Mrs. M. A. Pope, who had been previously located 
at Watertown, Mass., removing to Tileston Street, 
Boston, was very desirous that Mr. and Mrs. Conant 
should make a home at her house, which they finally 
decided to do, going to their new quarters in Octo- 
ber, 1855. Nothing of particular interest occurred 
to diversify the even current of her experiences for 
sometime after, but one afternoon in the month of 
December — same year — while she was engaged in 
giving a sitting for a gentleman, Dr. Fisher took con- 
trol, saying that he regretted to bring the seance so 
suddenly to a close, but his medium was needed for 
another purpose. The gentleman at once left the 
house, and Mrs. Conant remained in a disturbed 
state of mind, not knowing what was about to hap- 
pen. While sitting in her room she heard the door 
bell violently ring, and though it was not her custom 
to answer it, yet led by an incontrollable impres- 
sion, she hastily obeyed its summons, and met at the 
threshold a party of men bearing Col. Pope home in 
their arms. She retained her consciousness long 
enough to hear that he had met with an accident, by 
which one of his lower limbs had been fractured, 
after which Dr. Fisher assumed control of her organ- 
ism, not quitting his hold for two hours. He first 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 6b 

skillfully examined the wound, pronouncing it a 
severe one, but was of opinion that he could soon 
restore the patient, if the parties interested were 
willing to put the case in his hands. The Colonel 
and his family expressed a wish that he should un- 
dertake the treatment, so the spirit physician con- 
tinued to work over the broken limb till all was 
settled for the present, as far as bandaging and 
preventives to the arising of inflammation were 
concerned. 

A brother of Mr. Pope, who was present, ridiculed 
the idea that the spirit doctor could be of any ser- 
vice, and announced his intention of sending for a 
regular physician. Although Mr. and Mrs. Pope 
declared that such person should not be allowed to 
interfere now that the limb was dressed, Dr. Fisher 
told them that a doctor could be sent for if they 
chose, that others might be satisfied of his skill. 
Accordingly, the family physician made his appear- 
ance, but as soon as he had seen the work of the 
spirit surgeon he declared that it was well per- 
formed, and that there was nothing left for him to 
do. In the astonishingly short space of three weeks 
Mr. Pope was able to go out of the house, and was 
soon after fully restored — experiencing no trouble 
since from this limb, but finding it in every way in as 
good condition as before the accident. 

The case awakened much interest at the time, an 
account of it appearing in the Boston "Daily Mail," 
and people coming from various parts of the State to 
question concerning the matter for themselves. Not 
long after his recovery, while Col. Pope was riding 
in an omnibus on Washington Street, the conversa- 



66 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

tion among several of the passengers turned upon 
Spiritualism and trie late surgical operation said to 
have been so successfully performed by a u spirit 
medium." 'One of the party doubtingly remarked, 
" I should like to see that man whose leg was set by 
a female spirit medium." Col. Pope immediately 
replied, " Gentlemen, I am the man, and can vouch 
for the entire truth of the statement." Col. Pope is 
still alive — residing in Boston — and bears willing 
testimony to the truth of this account. 

Many difficult cases were brought for the consider- 
ation of the spirit doctor, after his treatment of the 
foregoing ; the time of his medium was entirely con- 
sumed by the demands of patients, and many wonder- 
ful cures were wrought by him during Mrs. Conant's 
residence at the house. Whenever Dr. F. perceived 
on the morning of any particular day that he was about 
to have a serious matter presented for examination, 
he would control his medium, and through her, give 
orders to Mrs. Pope that she must be exceedingly 
careful of Mrs. C.'s diet, and give her nothing, till 
further orders, but plain " gruel " — a provision 
which was not very agreeable to Mrs. Conant, but 
seemed to be indispensable for his successful/ opera- 
tion through her organism. These directions were 
implicitly obeyed by Mrs. Pope, whose confidence in 
Dr. F. was unbounded. 

V. 

Her invisible guides now gave directions to Mrs. 
Conant that she must discontinue manual labor in 
any form ; proscribing even her sewing for herself ; 
but she being of an active turn of mind, found it im- 
possible to remain seated, when she had a leisure 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 67 

moment, without some employment to occupy her 
attention. Among her attendant spirits was an old 
Indian chief, Wapanaw, who particularly (in his 
capacity of magnetic adviser) objected to her so 
doing, giving as a reason, that by wasting her bodily 
strength in physical labor, she was expending the 
life force which was. necessary for consumption by 
the spirits in their operations. On one occasion, 
shortly after the accident just recounted, as she sat 
sewing upon a black silk dress which she desired 
soon to complete, this Indian friend continued espec- 
ially near her, and great was her annoyance at the 
obstacles which he threw in her way with a view to 
discouraging her personal efforts to finish it — he 
desiring her to employ some one else. At the time 
Col. Pope and his wife were in the room. A skein 
of silk which Mrs. Conant was using suddenly disap- 
peared, and could not be found, although, vexed at 
its loss, she continued to search for it for sometime. 
She then abandoned the chase, and prepared another, 
saying, " I will hold this fast enough." Just as she 
had so expressed herself, Mr. Pope, who was seated 
on a sofa at the opposite side of the room from her, 
cried out : " Look over your head." She did so, and 
there, suspended by some invisible power, was the 
missing skein, which was then dropped upon the 
floor at her feet. The Indian explained that he had 
abstracted the silk, and held it suspended in the air 
— at the same time rendering it, by a process known 
to himself, invisible to their b eyes; but that finding 
her determined to' go on with the employment, he 
thought he might as well return it to her. 

This aboriginal friend, on many occasions, proved 



68 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

his interest in her welfare by endeavoring to minister 
to her health through the subtle powers of spirit chem- 
istry. The medium was extremely opposed to taking 
medicine, but, owing to her enfeebled condition, 
found it absolutely necessary that she should overcome 
her dislike. While thinking the matter over on a cer- 
tain evening, she was entranced by Wapanaw, who 
demanded that Mrs. Pope should bring him a glass 
of water. When it was before him, he referred to 
Mrs. Con ant's dislike to medicine, and said he would 
arrange the' matter for her ; the hand of the entranced 
medium was then placed over the top of the glass. 
In a moment or two he declared the water to be suf- 
ficiently medicated. On Mrs. Conant recovering 
from the trance she again complained concerning the 
disagreeable medicine she was to take on retiring, 
when she was told by Mrs. P. that all she need do 
would be to drink the contents of the glass. She 
partook of the water it contained, with little faith as 
to its efficacy, but found that its results were iden- 
tical with the prescription which had been intended 
for her. 

VI. 

Samuel Upham, a trance medium, then in ill health 
and since deceased, called on her one evening in Feb- 
ruary, 1856, for an examination by Dr. Fisher, with 
reference to his disease. Hardly had both seated 
themselves, when the male medium became en- 
tranced by the spirit of an Indian chief who gave 
his name as " White Cloud." Mrs. Conant, most 
unexpectedly to herself, was immediately controlled 
by an Indian influence whose love for " White Cloud " 
was not of that tender sort supposed to rule in the 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 69 

u happy hunting ground,", and a fierce struggle en- 
sued, each hostile spirit endeavoring to destroy its 
enemy ; the warfare, was, however, of short duration, 
as the medium of "White Cloud" being much re- 
duced by sickness, was no match for his brisk oppo- 
nent, and when Mr. and Mrs. Pope rushed into the 
room, attracted by the uproar, they found the lamps 
broken, the table overturned, and Mrs. Conant — 
unconsciously entranced — belaboring the unfortu- 
nate Upham with a chair. In all probability he 
would have been killed — as "White Cloud" still 
held control of him with true Indian pluck, and 
would not yield — had not the Colonel and his 
wife interposed as a rescue. After considerable dif- 
ficulty they finally succeeded in separating the com- 
batants, and then set about convincing the belligerent 
chiefs that they were dead — that if either killed any- 
body now it would be one of the mediums who would 
die, not the enemy they desired to destroy. The curi- 
ous combat then closed, leaving the visitor in a some- 
what battered state, while Mrs. Conant was found 
to have sustained no injury. This manifestation — 
rather startling, it must be confessed — was but a 
representative of one of the characteristic phases of * 
undeveloped spirit communion at that early day. 

VII. 

At the conclusion of one of her sittings at Mrs. 
Pope's, a gentleman paid Mrs. Conant. her fee with 
some of the old Spanish silver pieces once quite in 
vogue, although now out of the currency, in New 
England. The coins bore such an ancient date that 
the attention of the medium was immediately called 



70 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

to them, and she placed them upon the mantel with 
an idea of keeping them as curiosities ; but while she 
turned from the shelf to put some coal upon the grate, 
they disappeared; she looked incredulously at the 
place where she had just deposited them, but it was 
a certainty — they were gone, and she did not hear of 
their whereabouts for several days, when she recov- 
ered her lost property under the following singular 
circumstances. One of the children of Mrs. Oliver 
Stearns, who resided at No. 6 Cambridge Street, at 
the West End of Boston, came to her and said : 

" Mother wants to know if you have lost any- 
thing?" 

" Yes," replied Mrs. C. ; "I have lost some silver 
pieces, and quite mysteriously, too," and she pro- 
ceeded to describe them to the best of her remem- 
brance. 

The boy at once took them from his pocket, and 
related the manner of their being found. An attend- 
ant spirit who used to manifest in the presence of one 
of the Stearns children, and who gave his name as 
" Colonel Fiske," had brought the pistareens to the 
house of Mrs. Stearns, as an exhibition of his powers, 
and on leaving them remarked that he had " stolen " 
them from Mrs. Conant, " when her back was turned," 
and had transported them through the air across the 
city (Mrs. C.'s residence being at the North End) 
for the benefit of his child-medium. The mother 
decided to wait a day or two, to discover whether he 
would take them away again, or if Mrs. C. would 
send for them ; but finding nothing further was likely 
to occur, returned them to the rightful owner by the 
hand of her son. The same spirit, sometime after- 



MTCS. J. H. CONANT. 71 

ward, told Mrs. Conant that lie tried the experiment 
in order to see " what she would do about it." 

One evening, as Mrs. C. was preparing herself to 
go out with her husband for a visit, and had stepped 
into an adjoining room for a moment, she was some- 
what annoyed on her return to find that the various 
paraphernalia indispensable to the female toilet, 
(brushes, combs, hair pins, etc.,) which were but 
just now handily arranged for her use upon the 
dressing table, had disappeared They could not be 
found, and she was obliged to apply to Mrs. Pope 
for aid in the emergency. She then went out for the 
evening, as previously decided upon, and, on reach- 
ing her room and preparing to retire, discovered all 
the missing articles very carefully wrapped up and 
hidden in the middle of her bed. So quietly had 
they been placed there that not a wrinkle or sign of 
disturbance in the clothing had been left to expose 
their presence — a thing which would have been 
exceedingly difficult of accomplishment, had the 
"hiding" been performed by some mischievous hu- 
man being, owing to the short time she was absent 
from the room in the first instance ; and it being im- 
probable that any one could have gained access to 
her room during her visit, as the door was locked and 
the key in her possession during the entire evening. 

VIII. 

Time in its course, brings to us ' great and unex- 
pected changes, which result in the total rearranging 
of life's plans, or the turning of the current of exist- 
ence into new and undreamed-of channels. The 
great world of spirits had earnestly considered the 



72 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

question of establishing a printed organ for the enun- 
ciation of its ideas on earth, which should be ruled 
by it in toto ; and the individuals who were to become 
the pioneers, and subsequently to carry into success- 
ful operation the wishes of the invisibles, were being 
gradually, though insensibly drawn toward each 
other, as atoms upon the surface of the water, and 
were soon in a most unexpected manner to become 
aggregated into working order. Luther Colby, who 
had for j^ears been connected as a practical printer 
with the Boston Post — a morning paper, at that 
time, and also at the present, a leading daily in the 
city — had become satisfied that his "long night" 
employment was injurious to his physical health, and 
was preparing to withdraw from it, having, however, 
no definite plan for the future. He became an investi- 
gator of the new philosophy, and, in Nov. 1855, met 
and became acquainted with Mrs. Conant at a circle 
held at the residence of Mrs. Stearns— before alluded 
to — on Cambridge Street. He at once became inter- 
ested in her as a remarkable medium for the manifes- 
tation of spirit power, and recommended her to the 
attention of William Berry, afterward his partner. 
In a few days, Mr. Berry came to her, wishing her 
presence at North Cambridge, Mass., to examine a 
sick girl there residing. She made the journey, and 
so pleased were the relatives with the statements 
made by Dr. Fisher, that they greatly desired that he 
would treat the case. To this he consented, but told 
them, in advance, that it was impossible for the young 
lady to entirely recover ; that she would probably live 
a long while, but would never be restored to sound 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 73 

health. The lady, in verification of this prediction, 
continues to this day a hopeless invalid. 

IX. 

Mr. Berry had been in the habit of holding seances 
each Wednesday evening at his residence in North 
Cambridge, having for a medium his brother-in-law, 
James Ross. But that personage desiring, on account 
of business relations, to visit the Island of Cuba for a 
considerable period, Mr. B. was obliged to look around 
him for some one to fill the vacancy. Instinctively 
he was led to select the medical medium, whose skill- 
ful operations, while controlled, were the subject of so 
much comment, and, accordingly, sometime after his 
first visit, made his appearance at the rooms of Mrs. 
Conant, accompanied by Mr. Colby, for the purpose of 
engaging her as the regular medium for his investigat- 
ing circles ; to which proposition she agreed. Between 
twenty and thirty persons generally attended the se- 
ances of Mr. Berry at this time, being invited to assist 
him in tracking to some definite conclusion the mys- 
tery which had made its appearance in society. The 
most startling and wonderful manifestations of spirit 
power, both in matters physical and mental, were 
obtained at these weekly meetings, of which a few 
specimens alone must suffice. 

At one of these seances the party desired to know 
if the spirits could not give them some manifesta- 
tions in the dark — these meetings being held almost 
uniformly in the light — and were responded to affirm- 
atively. The full moon shone brightly into the par- 
lor where the assembly was convened, through two 
long windows, and when the gas was extinguished it 



74 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

seemed quite light therein ; some of the gentlemen 
therefore suggested putting up blankets as curtains 
to increase the obscurity ; the spirits, however, 
declared that in that direction they would darken 
the room to suit themselves. Before long the apart- 
ment began to grow dark, gradually at first, as if a 
cloud obscured the moon, but finally becoming almost 
that impenetrable blackness of which it is said "it 
can be felt." Electric lights of large dimensions 
then appeared in the room, and sounds akin to the 
discharge of fire arms startled the company. A spirit 
present, Avho passed from his bodily form at the bat- 
tle of Monterey, in Mexico, then announced his 
intention of giving a representation of that con- 
flict, and distant cannonading, slowly growing more 
distinct, musketry and many of the dissonant ac- 
companiments of nationalized butchery by which 
man in a professedly Christian era still murders his 
brother, were faithfully copied, to the astonishment 
of all — the phenomenon lasting from fifteen to 
twenty minutes. During all this exciting sound- 
panorama Mrs. Conant was entirely conscious, and de- 
scribes it (as do all those who were in attendance on 
that occasion) as having even at the present day 
almost the effect of a terrible reality, rather than 
something given as an evening entertainment. Soon 
after the " battle " was ended, Mrs. Conant was en- 
tranced, and, when she regained control of her fac- 
ulties, found herself raised to the top of the table — 
the chair in which she was sitting, together with 
herself having been placed there by invisible agency 
previous to the return of the light — and, in accord- 
ance with the rapid transition sometimes witnessed 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 75 

in physical manifestations, from the sublime to the 
grotesque, smoking a pipe which the influence just 
controlling had demanded of the laughing company. 
Another phase of astonishing power at these circles 
was shown in the making of predictions concerning 
future events in the lives of those present, and also 
in the history of the nation. The late civil war was 
unerringly foretold, and its length as to time definite- 
ly given, also the manner of its termination. These 
circles were held at Mr. Berry's residence by Mrs. 
Conant for several months, after which they were 
discontinued, and those for the Banner of Light com- 
menced at the National House, Boston. 



PART IV 



SHE IS EMPLOYED BY THE "BANNER OF LIGHT" 
AS BUSINESS AND CIRCLE MEDIUM. 



PART IV. 



"We see but half the causes of our deeds ; 
Seeking them wholly in the outer world, 
Unconscious of the spirit-world which, though 
Unseen, is felt, and sows in us the germs 
Of pure and world-wide purposes." 

— James Russell Lowell. 

I. 

And now ensued a remarkable fulfillment of one of 
her prophecies which at the time of its enunciation 
was hardly believed to be practicable. As heretofore 
mentioned, Mr. Berry, after having consulted her 
with regard to the sick girl in North Cambridge, had 
visited her again, in company with Mr. Colby, to 
ascertain whether her medical control was willing 
she should accept the position of regular medium at 
his Wednesday evening seances ; on that occasion 
(which was in the winter of 1855,) Dr. Fisher told Mr. 
Berry that he was soon to change his business ; that 
before long he would commence the publication of a 
paper in the interests of spirit communion — gave 
its name as the Banner of Light — told him who 
would be associated with him in business — when 
he would issue his prospectus, etc., etc. ; and all 
these predictions in time proyed trcfe. Mr. Berry 
went away from the presence of the Doctor deeply 

79 . 



80 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

impressed with what had been imparted to him. Cer- 
tain vague ideas which had been revolving in his 
mind for sometime, here appeared to take shape, and 
before long developed into a determination to carry 
out the project so remarkably traced for him. 

The first number of the Banner of Light bore 
date of April 11th, 1857, and was issued by a firm 
bearing the style of " Luther Colby & Co.," at No. 
17 "Washington Street, Boston. At the time of its 
first appearance in the literary world, as is the case 
with every new venture in the field of periodical lit- 
erature — especially when the matter to be treated 
is an advanced thought — the publishers of the 
Banner of Light found the pecuniary hill hard to 
ascend, and were often much disconcerted at the 
want of means to carry on satisfactorily the project 
undertaken ; but on such occasions application was 
immediately made for spirit direction through Mrs. 
Conant, which never failed to be of the most practi- 
cal sort when given, and was implicitly followed by 
them ; they were thereby led in safety through the 
most threatening dangers. The history of the Ban- 
ner of Light, as a bold, honest and unselfish exemplar 
of the truth of spirit return and communion, is before 
the world, and can speak always for itself : The 
object of the present volume is to trace the life-line of 
Mrs. Conant as it winds, in accordance with circum- 
stances, across the pathway of that journal's existence. 

While Mr. Berry, as business manager, remained 
quiescent and obedient, like Paul of old, to " the 
heavenly vision," all went well ; but finally questions 
of policy arose»in which he entertained a different be- 
lief from his spiritual advisers through Mrs. Conant, 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 81 

and the breach rapidly widened till he almost bade 
them defiance, and declared his intention of pub- 
lishing the paper to suit himself. With a hope of 
influencing his powerfully materialistic mind, his own 
guardian band of spirits sent a fearless, determined 
disembodied intelligence, who gave his name as 
William Jeffreys, alias Captain (Pirate) Gibbs, to 
reason with him upon the plane of thought which 
was the most natural to both — Mr. Berry being, like 
the sailor, of a bold and dashing temperament which 
allowed no opposition to daunt him in the carrying 
out of his projects. But the arguments, and, after- 
ward, threats of Capt. Gibbs, could not influence the 
positive mind he had to combat, and he finally told 
Mr. Berry that under the circumstances nothing more 
could be done with him, but that in less then two 
years he would shake hands with him on the spirit 
side of life. The civil war in time broke out, and 
Mr. Berry, after some preliminary movements, em- 
barked on its sanguinary flood, became a First Lieu- 
tenant in the Salem Sharp Shooter Corps, and fell 
bravely fighting at the head of his company at the 
battle of Antietam, Md., September 17th, 1862. 

II. 

As this powerful invisible intelligence, Capt. Gibbs, 
has been of much service and assistance to Mrs. 
Conant, a few examples of his foresight and skill 
will not be out of place in this connection, though 
the instancies cited occurred later in her experience. 
He was, at his first coming, very violent in his mani- 
festations, and decidedly dangerous as to his inten- 
tions, having on one or two occasions seemingly 



82 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

attempted the life of the medium. He desired to 
have supreme coutrol of her himself, and was thrown 
into ungovernable rage by the refusal both of herself 
and her guardian spirits to allow it. Finally, how- 
ever, he appeared to grow calmer, and made a propo- 
sition to Mrs. Conant that if she would undertake a 
journey to New York city for him upon some business 
in which he was deeply interested, he would see her 
safely there, protect her in returning, and would ever 
after be a constant and helpful attendant, grant- 
ing any reasonable request which she might make of 
him. She consulted with some of her friends, and, 
as they counseled the acceptance of the offer, she 
started for New York, in company with Mr. Berry, 
in the month of February, 1860. On arriving there, 
she repaired to a hotel — the Brandreth House — 
and, upon establishing herself therein, asked her in- 
visible traveling companion what she was to do next : 

" Bring me writing materials, and I will show you 
what I want," was his reply. 

She arranged the paper, and he proceeded to con- 
trol her hand, writing a letter to a gentleman, an en- 
tire stranger to her, and whose name and address — 
which latter was somewhere on Broadway — she 
seemed immediately to forget as soon as the missive 
was despatched, requesting him to meet a friend at a 
certain room in the house in question at a specified 
hour of the day. This letter was sent to its destina- 
tion by the aid of one of the hotel *boys, and in two 
hours after, the stranger arrived, thoroughly puzzled 
as to whom to expect, and not knowing even the sex 
of the party who was desirous of seeing him. The 
number of the room was no guide to him, for in look- 



MUS. J. II. CONANT. 83 

ing at the register he found it to be occupied by a 
lady, while, by the handwriting of the letter, he had 
been led to expect a gentleman. lie, however, de- 
cided to call upon said lady and see what was the 
meaning of the strange procedure. Reaching the 
room he inquired what was the business on which he 
was summoned. Mrs. Conant was confused, and at 
loss for a reply, whereupon Captain Gibbs proceeded 
to entrance her, and to explain the circumstances 
which had led to his calling on him. The nature of 
the matter which seemed so important to Gibbs, his 
medium never knew, though the gentleman seemed 
much interested when she returned to consciousness, 
and expressed himself as fully satisfied, both of the 
identity of the Captain, and concerning the business 
treated of by him. The promise of the spirit, as re- 
gards being her friend in future, was kept in a re- 
markable degree, and Mrs. Conant had no occasion to 
regret her unexplained journey. 

The day on which she embarked for her return to 
Boston was fine, and not a cloud was to be seen. 
Meeting the Captain as he walked through the cabin 
of the Sound steamer as evening was closing in, she 
asked if he anticipated a pleasant passage ; to which 
he replied that the night promised to be as pleasant as 
any he had met with in the course of a long experience. 

"Well, Captain," returned the medium, "there will 
be a storm before midnight ; you '11 be obliged to 
anchor before 10 o'clock." 

" I have been on this Sound," said the Captain, 
"for twenty- three years, and have rarely been mista- 
ken about the weather ; if I am now, it will be very re- 
markable." 



84 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

So they parted — she foretelling a conflict of the 
elements, and the professional sailor predicting a fair 
and prosperous voyage. Beginning to feel sick soon 
after, she sought her state-room, and fell into a fitful 
slumber, from which she was finally aroused by a 
hurried tramping overhead, the blowing of the whis- 
tle, ringing of engine bells, shouts and commands, 
the rattling of chains, and other signs which usually 
accompany a nautical disturbance. Hastily arising, 
and keeping her feet by clinging to the door — for 
the boat was rolling heavily — she demanded of the 
stewardess what had happened. 

44 Oh ! " answered that functionary ; " it 's a heavy 
storm of snow and wind, and it is n't safe to run any 
longer on account of the other boats ; so we 're coming 
to anchor." 

" What time is it? " asked Mrs Conant. 

44 Ten minutes of ten," said the stewardess. 

The medium, now fully awake, remembered the 
prophecy she was impelled to make to the Captain, 
and saw that it had proved correct.* Her fears im- 
mediately assumed the ascendancy, and sitting down 
as best she could, with paper and pencil, she asked 
Capfcain Gibbs what was to be the result. He at 
once wrote — 

44 Do n't trouble yourself, I will take care of this 
matter, and bring you home in safety." 

When the daylight came, three steamers were found 
anchored near them, but so thick had been the snow 
in the atmosphere that neither of the pilots had been 
able to see the other boats, and the escape from a 
collision was almost miraculous. The Captain sought 
for his remarkably weather-wise passenger, and de- 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. »5 

sired to know by what means she had been enabled 
to foretell the approaching tempest. 

" That is a secret," was her playful response. 

" I would give something for that secret," rejoined 
the son of Neptune. 

" Why, then, I am a spirit medium ! Capt. Gibbs, 
an old sailor, now dead, told me of the danger, on 
coming on board, and also promised to protect me." 

"Indeed," said the Captain. " You would be a 
fine passenger to have on board ship during a long 
voyage — better than a barometer. This has been 
the worst storm I have seen on the Sound. The 
Steamboat Company ought to carry you gratis. I will 
give you a free pass whenever you desire to visit 
New York." 

On another occasion, in the month of May, 1860, 
on going on board a steamer in New London bound 
for New York city, in company with Mr. Berry, Mrs. 
Conant entered the cabin, and looking around, per- 
ceived several buckets— empty *at the time — and 
asked why they were kept there. Mr. Berry in- 
formed her that they were intended as aids in extin- 
guishing fire, should the boat be subject to such an 
accident. 

" Why are they not filled, then ? " 

" Because the officers probably think there is no 
fear of fire, and so they are not attended to." 

"Well," retorted the medium, "they had better 
be filled to-night." 

Mr. Berry became so impressed with the sense of 
coming danger, portrayed in her words, that he has- 
tened to the Captain of the boat with a warning. 
That officer was not one of those who resent advice 



86 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

even when given in all kindness, and lie had the neces- 
sary precautions against fire observed, not only in the 
cabin but throughout his vessel. About midnight 
fire was discovered near the engine room, which 
would, in all probability, have proved fatal to the 
boat, if not to all on board, had not everything been 
in preparation to subdue it. As it was, the threat- 
ened conflagration was instantly stayed. The Cap- 
tain met Mr. Berry on deck just before reaching 
New York, and was anxious to know how the fire 
had been foreseen ; and when informed that it had 
been spoken of by a lady passenger who was a spirit 
medium, he desired to be presented to her, and ex- 
pressed his wish to know more about Spiritualism, 
if the " invisibles" could "do as well as that." This 
again was the work of the guardian, Capt. Gibbs, 
who, foreseeing* the emergency, had impressed her to 
utter the words which had caused the successful 
preparations to be made. 

III. 

Those acquainted with the peculiar delicacy of 
magnetic laws, know the subtle effect which persons 
of a certain given temperament bring to bear upon 
others possessed of one negative to or susceptible of 
approach by them. Shortly after her acquaintance 
with Mr. Gibbs, a lady whom she frequently met, be- 
gan to exercise a power upon her which seemed to sap 
the fountains of her vitality, bringing on that fearful 
sensation of "death in life " which so many media 
have experienced, to their cost. Wherever Mrs. 
Conant appeared, at circles, parties, or elsewhere, 
this magnetic vampyre seemed attracted, and came 



MES. J. H. CONANT. 87 

also, until it appeared as if her physical decease 
would ensue. In this emergency, Mrs. C. was fain 
to call upon her constant though unseen friend : 

" Capt. Gibbs — help me," she earnestly asked. 

"Yes," was his answer; "leave her to me." 

" But what will you do? " she demanded, remem- 
bering his former violence of manifestation toward 
herself. 

" Kill her, if necessary," was his rejoinder. He 
shortly afterward came and wrote : 

" You will be no longer troubled." As he pre- 
dicted, the lady soon after ceased to come where 
Mrs. Conant was, and never afterward annoyed the 
medium by her disturbing presence. 

The friendly understanding between Gibbs (or Jef- 
freys) and Mrs. Conant has remained unbroken to the 
present day. He has assisted her in many ways — 
not the least remarkable in the pecuniary point of 
view, when she needed such help, by impressing per- 
sons to pay arrears or advance her the amount re- 
quired ; he has also given her strength in hours of 
sickness and prostration. 

In the Spring of 1856, herself and husband removed 
their place of abode from Mrs. Pope's, and went to 
live at the house of Mr. Berry, in North Cambridge. 
Dr. Fisher recommended a change for her, but she 
murmured, saying that she did not know where to 
go ; that Mr. Berry had offered to board herself and 
husband, but she was not yet ready to leave her 
present home. She finally demanded of her spirit 
adviser a test which should prove conclusively to her N 
that it was really himself, and not another intelligence, 
who was thus counseling her. In reply he directed her 



88 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

to visit Mrs. Hayden, a medium in Hay ward Place, 
Boston, and see what she had to say. She obeyed, 
and as soon as she entered the room loud raps began 
all around her. Mrs. Hayden said : " You have 
brought some powerful spirit with you." The par- 
ties then took their seats at the table, and the raps 
continued. Mrs. Hayden, without the slightest knowl- 
edge concerning the purpose of her visitor, took up a 
pencil, and at once the name, "John Dix Fisher," was 
mechanically traced on the paper, after which he (for it 
was the Doctor) wrote out the same message he had 
previously transcribed through Mrs. Conant's hand 
at her own residence. His medium was then satis- 
fied of his identity, and said, quietly: "All right — I 
will go." 

Her removal into the suburbs rendered it necessary 
that she should have some central location in Boston, 
in which, during the day, to answer the demands 
of her rapidly increasing mediumistic business ; and 
such a desideratum did not immediately present itself.. 
In fact, she searched for some time, and was begin- 
ning to be discouraged, although Dr. Fisher had pre- 
viously told her that she should have an office on 
Washington Street. Finally, despairing of success, 
she visited a lady who hired rooms in a building — 
the old Andrews estate — onWashington Street, cor- 
ner of Central Court, (an edifice now extinct, it 
having given place to the march of improvement;) 
and was informed by her that there was not a vacant 
room in the house suitable for her purpose, but that 
the landlord, Mr. Drury, had a fine little office just 
around the corner, up one flight, which he seldom 
made use of, and perhaps he could be prevailed upon 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 89 

to give it up. Calling on him the next day, he said 
there was no fitting place in the building for the 
purpose she desired, and upon her reminding him 
of the office, was of the opinion that she would not 
like it when she had visited it. On being ushered 
into the apartment the medium declared that she 
would make it do, if he would consent to relinquish 
it. After taking a day to consider the subject, the 
landlord rendered his consent, the room was refitted 
and furnished, and she commenced her sittings there- 
in, remaining as a tenant for something more than 
a year — many of the most remarkable phenomenal 
manifestations of spirit power occurring there in her 
presence. 

The landlord informed her that when warm weather 
set in she would find the little room uncomfortable : 

" I don't see how you will get along with it," was 
his cheering assurance. 

" I shall be obliged to engage the spirits to keep it 
•cool," replied Mrs. C. 

She accordingly requested aid from Dr. Fisher in 
this regard, and he promised her that she should have 
no trouble concerning the heat. The engagement was 
faithfully kept, as the landlord himself fully acknowl- 
edged when entering the office on a close and sultry 
day in July, he was forced to exclaim with surprise : 

"How. cool you have it here — this is the most 
comfortable place I 've visited to-day. What does 
it mean ? " 

" Let us sit down at the table, and see," answered 
Mrs. Conant. 

She then asked Dr. Fisher if he had anything to 



90 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

do with the atmosphere of the room, upon which he 
wrote in the affirmative, and followed the declaration 
with quite a lengthy message, giving the modus oper- 
andi by which, through the introduction of certain 
electric forces, and the ejection of certain magnetic 
ones the temperature of the room was kept at its 
agreeably low degree, notwithstanding the heat out- 
side. He also stated that it was within the power 
of the spirits operating about the room, to increase 
or diminish the temperature therein at will. 

Among her patrons at this office was Mr. Charles 
Bruce, of Cambridgeport, who on many occasions, 
at private seances, brought fruit of various kinds for 
the invisibles communicating ; on his holding out a 
specimen, and asking if they would take it, his re- 
quest would be complied with at once, while both 
Mrs. Conant's hands were upon the table, and plainly 
to be discerned by her visitor — the manifestation 
taking place in the light. Sometimes, a knife being 
given them beneath the table, the spirits would pare 
the fruit — the noise of the operation being clearly 
heard, and the peel falling to the carpet. Again the 
remnants of an apple — the substance of which had 
been consumed — (sounds being heard as of eating, 
although no mortal person save themselves was in 
the room) would be thrown to the floor, bearing the 
marks of invisible teeth. This took place repeatedly 
in the presence of Mrs. Conant as medium, and Mr* 
Bruce as investigator, at their sittings. 

A remarkable case of what is called " the double " 
occurred at one of her private seances at this place. 
A gentleman whom she had been hi the habit of 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 91 

sitting for quite frequently, called on her one day 
and scarcely had they taken seats at the table when 
a name was written through the hand of Mrs. C. 
The visitor started back in surprise, ejaculating : 

" That can't be ! there must certainly be some 
mistake ! " But the spirit only replied by re-writing 
the name. 

" When did you die ? " queried the gentleman. 

" Yesterday ; in Middlebury, Vt. I was a teller in 
the Middlebury Bank." 

The visitor, filled with astonishment, in which was 
mingled an undertone of doubt, proceeded to press 
the spirit with test questions upon personal matters, 
of which he was satisfied the medium could not pos- 
sibly have any knowledge. All these were correctly 
answered. Utterly at a loss to account for what he 
heard, the inquirer informed Mrs. C. that he had 
left Middlebury that very morning, at which time 
the person now announcing himself as dead, was in 
perfect health. The medium, being unable to throw 
any light upon the subject, he repaired for informa- 
tion to the telegraph office, where his Vermont friend, 
in reply to his anxious query, flashed back a state- 
ment that as far as he knew he was alive and well. 
On his return to Mrs. Conant's office, the gentleman 
stated that he was even more mystified than before^ 
as the matters treated on by his questions, and cor- 
rectly answered by the influence purporting to be his 
friend, were of a nature to be beyond the knowledge 
of a third party. 

In the winter of 1855-6, owing to the nearly equal 
balance existing between the two great parties of the 



92 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

day, in the United States House of Representatives, 
no election of Speaker could be effected for that body 
for a space of nearly eight weeks. Day after day the 
House assembled, and the form of balloting was gone 
through with, but the result " no choice," was all 
that could be despatched to the waiting ones all 
over the nation. The excitement gradually reached 
such a height that knots of interested politicians 
began to visit Mrs. Conant at the residence of Mr. 
Pope, desiring to consult " the spirits " as to the 
prospects of their particular favorites. At last a 
challenge appeared in one of the city papers, offering 
five hundred dollars to any spirit medium who should 
successfully predict the coming Speaker. This chal- 
lenge she accepted, and, in accordance with its provis- 
ions, three gentlemen called at her office, announcing 
themselves as ready for a seance. She was entranced, 
and the spirit controlling (who gave his name as Henry 
Clay) assured them that Nathaniel P. Banks, mem- 
ber from Massachusetts, would be the one selected 
to preside. It so happened that all the gentlemen 
present were opposed in politics to Mr. Banks, and 
they stoutly denied the likelihood of such an occur- 
rence. But the spirit refused to reconsider his an- 
nouncement, although the gentlemen continued to 
come to her room day after day, to see if the unseen 
intelligence would offer any change of statement. His 
reply was invariably: "Banks will be the next Speak- 
er." At length, on the very day on which the news of 
his election was telegraphed to Boston, they called and 
remained two hours, patiently awaiting, but in vain, 
some indication of spirit presence. The medium be- 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 93 

gan to be nervous, and wondered what could be the 
cause of the delay, while she urged them to continue 
their stay till they received a message of some sort. 
The influence finally controlled, declaring positively 
that Banks was elected Speaker of the House. The 
gentlemen again united in protesting that it was im- 
possible, and one of them volunteered to go to the 
Transcript office to see if any later despatches were 
in receipt from Washington. On his return, he said 
there was some mistake — that no news had been 
received; this, however, turned out afterward to be 
an untruth, as the information was even then becom- 
ing public. The spirit, however, would not yield his 
ground. After another hour of suspense, nothing 
further transpiring, the gentlemen took their leave 
for the day. She at once prepared herself to go 
home, and starting therefor, almost the first sound 
that greeted her ear on passing into the street, was 
the cry of a news-boy, announcing : 

"Here's the Journal, Traveller, and Transcript! 
N. P. Banks elected Speaker ! !" 

Nothing further was heard from the three gentle- 
men (?) politicians or their five hundred dollars. 



94 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

IV. 

In the winter of 1856, she left Mr. Berry's 
residence at North Cambridge, and, with her hus- 
band, boarded at the National House, Haymarket 
Square, Boston, at that time kept by Mical Tubbs. 
Here those manifestations which have been the won- 
der of doubter and believer alike, followed her. The 
cures, also, performed by Br. Fisher, were remarkable 
in character. Among his patients was Mr. Tubbs, 
the landlord. So powerful were the remedies pre- 
pared under direction of Dr. F., that he warned Mrs. 
Tubbs that the administration of one drop too much, 
would be likely to " send her husband to the other 
side of life in less than half an hour." His skeptical 
friends became alarmed, and said to Mrs. Tubbs : 

" Why ! you surely do not intend giving him that 
medicine ? " 

" Certainty," was her answer ; "I shall follow Dr. 
Fisher's directions with regard to it." 

.Mrs. Conant was in the room when the first potion 
was given ; the patient soon complained that he could 
not see, and that his sense of hearing appeared to be 
failing ; he remained in this condition for several 
minutes, after which he became insensible. Great 
anxiety supervened in the minds of all concerned, 
but the result indicated that this state was exactly 
what Dr. F. desired to produce, for when the patient 
regained the use of his faculties — which happened 
after a brief period — he began a successful journey 
toward renewed health. 

Mrs. Tubbs next yielded to the approach of disease, 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 95 

lier special trouble being rheumatic fever ; so severe 
was the attack, that at its height but little hope was 
entertained of her recovery. Dr. Fisher attended 
her through all her sufferings, and though several 
physicians in the form, who called to see her, said 
that if the "dead doctor" brought her out safely "he 
would be smart," he finally was the instrument of 
the Higher Power to restore her again to life and 
usefulness. 

Another striking instance of Dr. F.'s curative 
capacity, as exhibited through the organism of Mrs. 
Conant (which occurred some time after) is evi- 
denced in the experience of a gentleman — a member 
of the Massachusetts Legislature, (which was then 
in session) — who was brought to her for treatment 
by Mr. Tubbs. Paralytic tendencies existed in his 
case — his head trembling and moving from side to 
side. Dr. Fisher prescribed for him, after looking 
thoroughly into the causes of the complaint, and was 
more than usually particular in his directions regard- 
ing the remedies he prescribed. He ordered the 
medium to be very careful in copying the recipe for 
the druggist from his own hand- writing — which was 
not very plain — in order that no mistake might 
arise ; and by his request she read the prescriptions 
aloud in the hearing of the patient and the spirit 
physician — the one declaring that he perfectly un- 
derstood the matter, the other (by writing) that his 
ingredients and the proportions thereof had been cor- 
rectly recorded. One portion of the prescription 
was intended for external, the other for internal use. 
The case continued with favorable symptoms till the 
third day, when by some mistake the gentleman on 



96 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

going to the State House put into his pocket the 
bottle containing the external remedy — which had 
previously been explained to him by the spirit doctor 
as containing an active poison — and did not discover 
his error till he had swallowed a sufficiency to throw 
him into violent spasms. He was apparently dying, 
and had only strength enough left to tell where he 
obtained the preparation. Several of his friends, full 
of blended indignation and fear, started in search 
of Mrs. Conant. On their finding her, Dr. Fisher 
speedily controlled, and, after writing a prescription 
to neutralize the poison, exclaimed to them : 

" Do n't stand here talking ! go and get this put 
up — give it to the patient as soon as possible ; he 
will live, if you return to him in any decent season." 

On their arrival with the remedy aforesaid, they 
found the sick man dead, to all appearances, the 
physicians who had been summoned in the interval 
of their absence considering him beyond the reach of 
medicine ; but on the administering of the counter- 
agent ordered by Dr. F., he began to show signs of 
life, and was removed to his lodgings. When he 
was sufficiently strong to make the effort, he called 
on Mrs. Conant at the hotel to express his regrets at 
having, by his own mistake, caused her so much 
anxiety and trouble. With him came two physicians 
who had witnessed his case, and were desirous of 
seeing the person who made the prescription — they 
declaring that no such preparation should be used 
■ — that "whoever ordered it was deficient of a 
knowledge of the materia medica" etc., etc. The 
spirit physician, controlling, soon proved to them 
that as to curative remedies he was in his element, 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. u 97 

his knowledge in this respect being superior to their 
own. Thus the case, which at first threatened such 
serious consequences, resulted in establishing yet 
more firmly the reputation of Dr. F. and his medium. 

V. 

The Banner of Light being brought before the 
material and mental world through the efforts of its 
energetic publishers, and conducted by the agency 
of the spiritual, through the organism of Mrs. Co- 
nant, they inaugurated during the summer of 1857, 
at Room 22, National House, a series of circles pre- 
liminary to those which in after years have become 
so prominent a feature of that journal. At first — 
in his ignorance of the laws of spirit communion (in 
common with the great body of the spiritualistic be- 
lievers of that date) — Mr. Berry conceived the idea 
that the seances must be held strictly in private, 
only himself and Mrs. C, being at the table, with 
now and then a mutual friend, (Willard Wheeler) 
introduced by way of experiment ; but finally, at the 
suggestion of Mr. Colby, a certain number of visitors — 
to act as a "battery" for the furnishing of magnetic 
supplies to the medium — were regularly brought in. 
These small circles of three or four persons, prepared 
the way in time for an increase of numbers, which 
continued till the room became too small, and Mr. B. 
was directed by the spirits to prepare another, for the 
better accommodation of the audiences assembling. 
He, therefore, in the spring of 1858, fitted a room 
at the (then) office of the Banner of Light situated 
at 3 1 Brattle Street, Boston. 

Mr. Berry was for a long while his own reporter — 



98 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

writing down whatever came from the invisibles for 
reference or publication as the case might be. Pre- 
vious to the establishment of the Circle Room at Si- 
Brattle Street, Mrs. Conant had become so thorough- 
ly depleted of vital force, by reason of her ministra- 
tions, that the only way in which communications 
could be given through her by the invisibles was by 
their bringing her into a profound slumber, and then 
writing mechanically through her hand — Mr. Berry 
moving the paper as fast as it became necessary. 

To give, in a brief space, to those minds unac- 
quainted with the conditions necessary for successful 
spirit control, an idea of what is termed a " battery " 
in circles held for such communion, it will be neces- 
sary, at the outset to lay down as a postulate the 
declaration of Paul the Apostle, that " there is a nat- 
ural body, and there is a spiritual body," and that 
the two are conjoined in every human being. Ex- 
perience proves that the one or the other is in the 
ascendant very strongly with certain classes of people, 
while in others the one blends into its opposite so 
gradually, that as has been said of the color on the 
neck of the dove, we may not trace where it ends. 
In regard to these classes it is not now necessary to 
speak of the varied shading of the middle ground, 
but rather to exhibit to the view of the investigator 
the extremes — those in which the one order of qual- 
ities predominates largely over the other. Experi- 
ence goes to show that the man (or woman) in whom 
the physical nature greatly preponderates, is given to 
matters more nearly related to the plane of the senses 
and seeks pleasure in things fleeting, temporal, and 
transitory, rather than those which are solid and 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 99 

abiding. The health of such, when not corroded by 
indulgence, is generally robust, and the fleshly ten- 
ement strong, though not particularly delicate in tex- 
ture, the finer qualities of the inner nature being 
apparently prisoners, and powerless to wake the indi- 
vidual from the semi-trance of materiality in which 
he or she is plunged. This class may be ranked 
as the positives, or anti-mediumistics. Those in 
whom the powers of the spiritual body greatly pre- 
dominate, by any reason, over flesh and sense, have 
in all ages been gifted with visions, impressions, the 
power of prophecy, etc. They may be termed the 
negatives or mediumistics. They are generally of a 
nervous or an excitable habit, not physically strong, 
but tending rather to delicacy of development, and, 
in the majority of cases, to weakness of the fleshly 
covering. These persons, like the sensitive plate 
of the photographer, which records impressions, even 
when involuntarily exposed to the light, are being 
constantly acted upon, or " influenced " by those 
who, though their physical bodies have been removed 
by death, yet live on as immortal entities by virtue of 
the "spiritual body" heretofore enumerated in Paul's 
compend of humanity. The modes of influencing or 
manifesting through a physical body by a spirit for- 
eign to it are various, consisting of all grades of pos- 
session, from the unconscious trance, in which the 
subject knows nothing of what is said, to the light 
breath of recognized inspiration flowing in upon the 
corona like the night breeze over the wind harp, and 
drawing forth the music of genius, which some one 
has beautifully described as the " great joy of the 
soul at the discovery of some new truth." 



100 A BIOGEAPHY OF 

Now the power by which these sensitives are eon- 
trolled by spirits foreign to their bodies is not brought 
by said spirits from some other sphere of life, but is 
of a material nature, and must be derived from the 
natural and spiritual body of the sensitive or medium. 
It is that mysterious vital force which the body gains 
when sleeping and expends while it is awake — the 
fuel which produces the propelling vapor for the 
great engine of life. Hence if the draught of strength 
from the medium is too great, as in the case of the 
engine when the fuel is too rapidly consumed, more 
must be obtained from some source ; therefore other 
persons — but not necessarily mediums — must be 
brought within reach of the controlling intelligence, 
that it may be able, as it were, to extend its grasp, 
and draw this force from them to assist it in oper- 
ating through the machinery, both physical and men- 
tal, with which it is temporarily connected. This 
assemblage of persons, whether joined in a circle or 
distributed in a hall as an audience, is termed a 
"battery," from which magnetic life is obtained 
to sustain the failing powers of the medium under 
influence. 



PART V 



THE "BANNER OF LIGHT" FREE CIRCLES. — HER 
LABORS AS A PUBLIC SPEAKER. 



PART V. 



"Verily, verily, I say unto thee, we speak that we do know, 
and testify that we have seen ; and ye receive not our witness. — 
John III., 11. 



The first public free circle held at the office of 
the Banner of Light, 3^ Brattle Street, Boston, as 
per previous date, was well attended, and the audi- 
ences continued steadily to increase from the open- 
ing of the room. At first the manifestations of spirit 
intelligence, and the management of the circles for 
the same, were not as quietly ordered, or systemati- 
cally arranged as afterward. It required practice 
for Mr. Berry and his unseen coadjutors to per- 
ceive the proper conditions to be observed on either 
end of the telegraphic wires. Mr. Berry, on his 
part, would often allow persons to enter the room, 
or retire, while the seance was going on, thus sub- 
mitting the medium to the severest shocks, and 
almost unfitting her to continue. As one instance 
of the effect of this method of operation, both upon 
Mrs. Conant and the sensitives who were selected 
and bound together as one by the spirit world for 
the carrying out of its purposes regarding the Banner 
of Light, the following incident is recorded ; At one 

103 



104 A BIOGEAPHY OF 

of these early stances, the circle room being crowded, 
a lady in passing the medium, placed her hand upon 
her (Mrs. C.'s) shoulder to preserve her balance, and 
immediately the spirit controlling lost possession, and 
the nicely adjusted magnetic surroundings were so 
thoroughly disturbed that no further manifestations 
could be obtained during the afternoon, although the 
medium and audience sat for sometime longer in a 
passive condition with a hope of reestablishing the 
necessary harmony. On the afternoon in question, 
Luther Colby — who in his capacity of editor-in-chief 
was at work in his office, situated one flight above the 
circle room — became aware of a very disturbed mag- 
netic condition around him, so much so that, unable 
to proceed with his vocation, and certain that some- 
thing unpleasant had happened down stairs, he de- 
scended hastily to the business office where he met 
his partner, Mr. Berry, who had just left the circle 
room. 

" What have you been doing this afternoon ? " he 
queried. 

" Nothing," said Mr. Berry, " on account of an 
accidental disturbance," the particulars of which he 
then related as above. 

The spiritual end of the telegraph was at this time 
scarcely better managed. No superintending spirit 
(or spirits) seemed appointed to hold command of 
the approaches to. the mediumistic machine, so that 
often disorderly intelligences would crowd out the 
peacefully inclined, and take possession of Mrs. 
Conant, demonstrating their natural tendencies by 
various acts of violence. 

The messages which were given through Mrs. 



MTCS. J. H. CONANT. 105 

Conant during the first six months of her ministra- 
tions at these circles — and written down by Mr. 
Berry as she spoke them — were afterward rigidly 
tested by the firm writing to the relatives mentioned, 
examining town records, visiting, when practicable, 
in person, the friends or acquaintances of the com- 
municating parties, etc., and not one was inserted 
in the paper till it was found correct by mundane 
evidence. Those which could not be immediately 
analyzed and endorsed were put on file for future 
reference. Finally the medium, being prostrated by 
sickness, the supply of messages which had been 
tested as reliable became exhausted before her recov- 
ery, and Mr. Berry called on her to see what should 
be done. He said that as the others had been found 
to be true, the idea presented itself to his mind that 
he had better run the residue (though not yet pro- 
nounced correct) through the press. She advised 
him to follow his impression, saying that her object 
was to get at the truth, in common with the mass of 
investigators, and that if false messages had been 
or were being given through her, she would like 
to have the fact settled beyond dispute. These 
filed communications were then given to the public 
through the columns of the Banner of Light. As 
they were in a great measure from persons residing 
in foreign countries, or in distant parts of the United 
States, the process of testing them was not as prac- 
ticable as in the case of the former class already pub- 
lished, but in time many of them were proved to be 
perfectly correct. The faith both of the medium and 
her associates became stronger at this demonstration 
of reliability, and afterward the messages were unques- 



106 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

tioningly printed without preliminary examination. 
To gain an adequate conception of the strong claim 
for credence and belief set up by the message depart- 
ment of the Banner, it is only necessary to examine 
the files of that paper from its earlier issues to the 
present hour. The skeptical reader will be aston- 
ished at the mass of testimony furnished there in 
letters received, through the mails from entire stran- 
gers, in all parts of the country, acknowledging the 
truthfulness of the communications. These living 
verifications of the " letters of the dead," if published 
would of themselves make a large volume. 

At the commencement of these public circles, they 
were held each day of the week save the Sabbath, 
and continued, generally speaking, from 3 to 6 o'clock 
P. M. ; but the length of time occupied at each seance 
gradually became shortened, and finally the number 
of days was limited — as under the present arrange- 
ment — to three; Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday 
afternoons, commencing at 3 o'clock and continuing, 
as an average, about an hour. So thoroughly have 
the various departments, spiritual and terrestrial, be- 
come systematized, that as much matter is now given 
in the three hours per week of the present, as was 
obtained in the six periods of three hours each during 
the old style. One great cause of the length of the 
early seances was the loss of time. The medium 
would nearly always be allowed to come fully out of 
the trance state when each influence left her, there- 
by necessitating the lapse of some ten minutes or 
more for the next spirit, desiring to speak, to obtain 
control; but under the present arrangement she is 
hardly conscious of anything transpiring from the 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 107 

time she takes her seat at the circle table, to the 
hour when she retires from it. On such days as the 
circles are held, at about 9 o'clock in the morning, 
the spirits conducting the circles generally commence 
slightly influencing her ; she therefore does not allow 
herself at such times to see company, but passes the 
period before the convening of the seance in quiet 
retirement. 

One remarkable feature in her experience with 
regard to the giving of these messages, is the con- 
sciousness she sometimes feels of possessing a double 
self-hood. She can see her physical form in one 
portion of the room, while her spirit is in an entirely 
different part of it, causing the thought to flash upon 
her — "Why! there are two of us!" But as an 
ordinary rule her spirit wanders from the room, and 
visits other scenes and countries. 

An English gentleman who was present at a seance 
at Huddersfield, records that she manifested as a 
spirit there, unmistakeably, through a medium who 
had no knowledge of her ; and on a report of the 
questions asked her and answers received in return, 
being forwarded her by the said gentleman, she found 
the replies attributed to her to be identical with those 
she would have given if interrogated on those points 
while in a normal condition. 

On another occasion, a gentleman came in from 
Roxbury (now a part of Boston under the name of 
the Highland District, but then a separate corpora- 
tion) and said he was in the habit of having weekly 
circles at his house, and that at the one held on the 
evening previous, she (Mrs. C.) had given himself 
and all present a surprise. Upon her inquiring as to 



108 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

how that could be when she was at home at that 
time, he replied : " You came to our seance in spirit 
last night, and every one thought, by the correctness 
of your personation and the directness of your answers 
to our queries, that you had passed away ; so I came 
here to see." Both these strange occurrences took 
place in the year 1859. 

II. 

The great unpopularity of Spiritualism in its open- 
ing days — which, thanks to increased knowledge 
among men is gradually wearing away — caused 
much trouble to be made by the relatives of those 
communicating through Mrs. Conant, concerning the 
publication of their messages to the world. Those who 
felt specially aggrieved, frequently called in ruffled 
mood upon Mr. Berry, but gained no comfort from 
that gentleman, as he assured them, that whatever 
came as a message through the medium which was 
within the bounds of reason, he should most certain- 
ly publish. Among the individuals most indignant, 
was a gentleman in Cambridgeport, whose son having 
passed on, shortly afterward communicated through 
Mrs. Conant at the circle — his words, of course, ap- 
pearing in due time in the Banner of Light. The 
father at once proceeded to the office, demanding of 
Mr. Berry: "What do you mean by publishing that 
' message ' from my son ? " 

" Is it untrue ? " queried the imperturbable Berry. 

"No — but I don't want my son's name mixed up 
any further with such nonsense. I forbid your pub- 
lishing any more of it. If you do, I will prosecute 
you in the courts," answered the father. 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 109 

" Very well ; you may rest assured that I shall 
print whatever communication your spirit son may 
desire to give." 

The son, who, of course, could not help being 
drawn by sympathy to the field where his was des- 
tined to be a test case, came the next week through 
the medium, his words to his relatives were pub- 
lished, and the indignant father immediately sought 
the services of a lawyer for the purpose of entering 
legal proceedings against the Banner of Light for 
what he held to be a defamation either of himself or 
the dead. But the lawyer, after examining the ex- 
planation placed at the head of the message depart- 
ment of the Banner, said that it precluded the possi- 
bility of prosecuting its publishers — that the spirit 
message as printed therein, was entirely unlike any 
ordinary newspaper article, and really, as far as the 
law was concerned, was not libelous in its nature. 
The proceedings were therefore abandoned, and 
though the son made several appeals to his friends 
afterward through the medium and the paper, noth- 
ing more, in the sh^pe of resistance, was offered by 
them. 

III. 

Many messages were received in which Harvard 
College was directly or indirectly referred to, and the. 
Faculty of that institution, conceiving that the char- 
acter of their University was endangered thereby, 
hastened to " place themselves right, before the peo- 
ple " in the columns of the Boston Courier — Corne- 
lius C. Felton, Professor of Greek, being their prin- 
cipal spokesman. The articles put forth in that paper 
concerning the Message Department and Mrs. Conant 



110 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

were of a nature to bring the despised fact of spirit 
communion more fully before the public — to intro- 
duce a knowledge of its existence where otherwise it 
could not have penetrated, and to arouse individual 
curiosity to the investigation of this modern " unpar- 
donable sin." The greatest efforts were put forth by 
Felton and his associates to silence the utterances of 
the spirits through Mrs. Conant, but in vain. Several 
times, various Professors of Harvard, and others came 
to the circles (incog, to the audience, though known 
to Mr. Berry,) for the purpose either of disturbing by 
their opposing magnetic influence the delicately organ- 
ized woman before them to such an extent that she 
could not be controlled by the spirits, or of discussing 
knotty points of logic or science with the various in- 
telligences which from time to time made use of her 
powers as channels of earthly communion. Many 
were the intellectual struggles thus waged with the 
invisibles, who came off conquerors in debate in 
every instance. Mrs. Conant has at different periods 
of her life, both in the circle room, and on the pub- 
lic rostrum, been brought face to face in the men- 
tal arena with some of the most erudite scholars and 
solid thinkers on this continent, and has never been 
worsted in the argument. Many persons knowing to 
the verity of this statement are now living, and can 
— if they please — bear witness of the fact. 

IV. 

Early in 1857, Luther Colby, who was also an in- 
mate of the National House, had the misfortune to 
dislocate his arm at the elbow joint by a fall as he 
passed out into the street. He returned to the hotel, 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. Ill 

and sought a speedy audience with Dr. Kittredge 
(before mentioned as a Portsmouth physician of great 
repute who had been several years in the spirit world) 
that he might through Mrs. Conant, reduce the dis- 
location. Dr. Kittredge, on entrancing the medium, 
found that from want of physical power in the hands 
of Mrs. C, he should be obliged to abandon the 
operation, although nearly able to accomplish it. 
Mr. Colby, on perceiving that the spirit physician 
was unable to consummate the almost-concluded 
process, said: 

" In passing up stairs, just after meeting with 
the accident, I heard a gentleman in the office ad- 
dressed as 'Doctor.' Perhaps he can do the work." 

" Very well," answered Dr* Kittredge, " I will go 
and examine his capacity as a surgeon, and report 
the result of my investigations." 

He soon returned, and wrote through the hand of 
the medium: "I know the gentleman — he was a 
student of mine m Portsmouth, N. H., many years 
ago. Call him up." The Doctor was accordingly sent 
for, and on his arrival, being informed of what was re- 
quired of him, at once set to work, and soon restored 
the limb to its natural condition. At the conclusion 
of the operation, a written message, signed R. [Rufus] 
Kittredge, was handed him by the medium, in which 
he was addressed as " Friend Pike." This somewhat 
astonished him, as he was a stranger to all present, 
and was confident that he was not known to them by 
name. After giving him, in answer to questions, 
several tests as to his identity, Dr. Kittredge notified 
his medical friend that if he would meet him at a 
private sitting he would firmly convince him of the 



112 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

reality of spirit return. Dr. Pike acceded, and was 
ere long thoroughly satisfied of the truth of the new 
gospel of Spiritualism. Desiring to afford his wife 
an opportunity for inquiring into the mystery of spirit 
communion, the Doctor soon after introduced her to 
Mrs. Conant. Mrs. Pike was very much alarmed at 
first, but yielding to the request of her husband, at- 
tended the seance, during which her (Mrs. P.'s) 
mother came into control, and so natural and unde- 
niable was her presence to the daughter, that at the 
conclusion of the sitting she threw her arms about 
the neck of the medium, tears filling her eyes, and 
said : " I shall never be afraid again." 



While at the National House, many strange occur- 
rences gave interest to her experience, two of which 
are here recorded : One evening in September, 1857, 
she was entranced, between the hours of 10 and 11, 
by the spirit of an Indian boy. Her husband and 
Mr. Berry were the only persons present, and as the 
time wore away, and no signs of her return seemed visi- 
ble, both parties suggested the propriety of the spirit's 
departing, that the medium might be allowed to retire 
to rest; but he replied that the spirit of Mrs. C. was 
absent, and he must retain control till she came back. 
When, after the lapse of considerable time (as meas- 
ured by the feelings of those who watched the 
increasing lateness of the hour) sho did return, she 
was questioned as to where she had been, but was 
unable to give any connected account of her journey- 
ings. On the next morning, Henry Wright, a friend 
of "the medium, who was slowly sinking in consump- 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 113 

tion — called on her, and said she gave him a great 
shock on the night previous ; that at about eleven 
o'clock P. M>, she appeared in his room; he was thor- 
oughly awake, at the time, and at first supposed the 
person he saw to be his wife (who had passed the even- 
ing away from home) coming to administer his medi- 
cine ; a second glance, however, showed him that it was 
Mrs. Conant. She approached him and bowed her 
head. He exclaimed, in trepidation : 

" For God's sake, Fannie Conant, what does this 
mean ? " 

He saw the lips of the figure before him move, but 
they gave forth no sound. He then asked : 

" Have you passed to the spirit world ? " 

At this the apparition shook its head. He noticed, in 
the movement, that her hair was arranged in a differ- 
ent manner from any in which he had ever before 
seen it. ■ Certain that she was dead, or that he was 
the victim of a mental delusion attendant on his 
bodily weakness, he staggered up from his couch to 
obtain a nearer view of her, but she quickly receded 
from hifti, and seemed to pass through the wall. 
When in the morning he came to see if his fears 
concerning her demise were correct, he minutely 
described to Mrs. Conant the dress she had worn on 
the previous night, and the style in which her hair 
was put up — this latter being a most convincing 
point, as it was then arranged in a manner in which it 
had never before, and never since has been — a lady in 
the house, who had & penchant for such experiments in 
the line of the toilette, and who was 'desirous of see- 
ing how Mrs. C. would look after the change, having 
superintended the process. This peculiar arrange- 



114 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

ment of the hair seen and described by Mr. Wright, 
while at the moment it was to him a positive proof 
that his friend was dead, was to her the strongest evi- 
dence of the truth of her apparition to him. His spir- 
itual sight had probably been opened and quickened 
by the weakness of his physical body which soon after 
yielded to disease, and he passed out from the "land 
of the dead to the land of the living." 

In the Summer of 1858, a rather unexpected exhi- 
bition of spirit power took place, which had a great 
influence on her mind in turning it in its desires 
from the physical to the mental phase of spirit mani- 
festations, which latter became the rule in her expe- 
rience thereafter. She had long been desirous — but 
had nearly abandoned the hope — that, for her own 
satisfaction, the spirits would give her some such 
manifestations as occurred to George A. Redman, 
(as, for instance, his being taken from his bed, or 
lifted from the floor when comparatively alone) but 
nothing of the kind seemed likely to occur, although 
from time to time she was promised that it should, 
by the invisibles. But on a certain evening she 
was suddenly aroused from a sound sleep by some 
power which was evidently endeavoring to lift her out 
of her bed. The chamber was not dark — she could 
see each familiar article therein, but nothing unusual 
was visible to which the disturbance could be at- 
tributed. Her first impression was that her husband 
had been playing some practical joke regarding her 
request for the exercise of spirit power „ in this 
way ; but he proved to be still wrapped in slumber. 
The effort was renewed, she was unable to perceive 
the one making it, and her piercing screams immedi- 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 115 

ately awoke her husband, who demanded the cause 
of her fright. The porter of the house, also startled, 
came running to the door, and finally the landlord 
and his wife were aroused. Mrs. Tubbs, passing 
into the sitting-room (which was generally used 
for stances) opened the inner door of Mrs. Conant's 
sleeping-room, pale with fright, and demanded the 
cause of the alarm. 

"There are robbers here! — somebody has been 
trying to take me out of bed," was the reply of Mrs. 
C, while her husband said he did not know what 
the difficulty was. A hasty review of the room, and 
afterward the house, assured all concerned that the 
disturbance was not attributable to burglars, as no 
trace of such visitors could be found. Mrs. Conant, 
anxious to satisfy the parties in the Hotel that her 
trouble did not arise from a disordered imagination, 
allowed Mrs. Tubbs, while in her apartment, to in- 
spect her person — the latter lady discovering thereon 
the clearly defined prints of five finger nails, show- 
ing the amount of power which had been exercised 
to remove her from her couch. Upon her recom- 
mendation, Mrs. Conant arose and dressed, and to- 
gether they sat at the table to question her guides 
regarding the matter. Dr. Fisher, controlling, wrote 
that the occurrence was only a natural result of 
the request often made by Mrs. C, and that since 
she was frightened by its being granted, she had 
better refrain from repeating it, which advice the 
medium was exceedingly glad to follow. 

^ While sitting at Mr. Berry's, in North Cambridge, 
as medium, she was ordered by her spirit friends to 
abstain from eating anything at night, especially 



116 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

such articles as apples, nuts, raisins, etc. ; and on 
several occasions when refreshments were passed to 
the company after the seance, and she (forgetting 
the injunction) attempted to partake, the article 
held in her hand and about to be eaten would be 
stricken from her grasp, sometimes passing entirely 
across the room, though no one could see the person 
by whom the deed was done. This phenomenon re- 
peated itself while she resided at the National House. 
Her guides had expressly forbidden her to eat a cer- 
tain article of food, and on one occasion, while sitting 
at the tea table, she decided to obey the promptings 
of her appetite, and so took some from the plate. 
Immediately that which she had raised in her hand, 
was stricken from it, and crossing the table, lodged 
like a well-directed shot in the vest front of a gentle- 
man who sat opposite ; he, perceiving no one save the 
lady before him — and supposing it thrown by her — 
was extremely astonished at what he supposed to be 
an act of unqualified rudeness. Mrs. Conant hastily 
left the room, and sought the landlord, desiring 
him to present an apology to the gentleman — who 
was a stranger to her — which proceeding proved 
satisfactory to him. 

VI. 

In the fall of 1858, Mr. Tubbs having retired from 
the management of the National House, and re- 
moved, with his family, to California, Dr. Pike com- 
menced keeping house on Springfield Street — Mr. 
and Mrs. Conant boarding with him. Mrs. Pike was 
at that time already marked as a prey to consump- 
tion, and slowly sank till May, 1859. Throughout 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 117 

her sickness, Mrs. Conant was to her as a sister, and 
many comforting evidences of spirit presence were 
granted through her to her fading friend ; one of an 
especially cheering character was given a few days 
previous to her decease : Mrs. Pike had a constitutional 
dread of death — her whole nature seemed to shrink 
back from the verge of what appeared to her a 
precipice toward which disease was hurrying her. 
Notwithstanding the assurances of Drs. Fisher and 
Kittredge that she should stay in earth life as long 
as she really desired, she feared at each crisis of the 
disease, that she had lain down for the last time. 
Ten days previous to her transition, Dr. Kittredge 
came and described the home whither she was going, 
and the recital created such a desire in her to be 
there, that all fear of death was removed. He further 
told her, that when she was about to depart from the 
earthly form, her spirit friends would "place a little 
white lamb, with a blue ribbon around its neck, upon 
the foot of her bed." When the final moment drew 
nigh (at about 6 o'clock on the morning of the 21st 
of May) though comparatively unexpected, as is 
often the case in. lingering diseases, her face sud- 
denly brightened, and she exclaimed to Mrs. Conant: 

"Oh, Fannie! there is the lamb! the darling white 
lamb! Do sing. I am dying now — I know it!" 
She then turned to her husband, who stood by the 
bedside, and said : 

" My dear, I wish you to promise me faithfully to 
be Fannie's friend (as I have been) and her physi- 
cian, and to take care of her in all the events of life." 

He promised, and her spirit passed on, leaving 
only to mortal sight a pale face lit up with the in- 



118 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

flowing glories from over the border of death ! The 
medium, and the husband, the one mourning the 
physical presence of a dear friend, the other strug- 
gling with that bereavement which must be felt ere 
it can be realized, were solaced by a message sent by 
the arisen one at noon of the same day, wherein it 
was stated that she had arrived at the beautiful home 
described before her apotheosis, and that everything 
was as had been foretold. 

" I had a Lamb, from our Father's fold, 
More dear to me than, the finest gold; 
Its fleece was whiter than driven snow, 
And pure as streams from the mountain flow, 
Its eye was clear as the glist'ning dew, 
Where love looked out at those windows blue : 
And mine was as happy as heart could be, 
Whene'er those starry eyes beamed on me. 

****** 
But veiled in gloom were my glad dreams, when 
Our Father sent for his Lamb again. 
I strove to keep her ; but Death said, ' No : 
The Shepherd calls, and the Lamb must go ! 
But though I take her, it is in love ; 
She goes to feed with the flocks above.' 
****** 

* Then sorrow not for the dear one dead : ' 
'Twas thus the spirit deliv'rer said; 
And Hope with angel voice whispered then, 

' Weep not : thy Lamb thou wilt find again ! ' " 

— William Denton. 



MBS. J. H. CONANT. 119 



VII. 

After remaining at the residence of Dr. Pike from 
October, 1858, to June, 1859, — at which time he 
ceased housekeeping — the medium and her husband 
removed to the Cummings House (during her stay at 
which occurred her voyage to New York for Captain 
Gibbs, previously mentioned,) and thence to the resi- 
dence of Mrs. Oliver Stearns, 32 Bradford Street, 
Boston. While there, Mrs. Conant, who was return- 
ing home from a stance, and was about turning into 
Acton Street, saw some one coming from Bradford 
Street, and said, half-musingly, to herself: "Why, if 
Abbie [Mrs. Pike] were alive, I should say that was 
certainly her." The lady drew nearer, and Mrs. C. 
perceived that she was dressed in a black silk, brown 
and white plaid shawl, and a bonnet trimmed with pink 
flowers — just as she had seen her friend Abbie cos- 
tumed for a walk in the old days. She asked the 
medium, when she came up to her, if a certain per- 
son (giving name) resided on Bradford Street, to 
which Mrs. Conant replied that she did not know. 
She then recognized the. face and voice as being 
those of her friend, but felt bewildered at the occur- 
rence. Mrs. C. did not remove her gaze for one 
moment from the mysterious stranger, and the fur- 
ther to satisfy herself that the person before her was 
a human being, took a portion of her shawl and 
rubbed it between her thumb and finger, that she 
might be assured of its material texture. She was 
strongly impressed — although for some reason un- 
known to her she did not — to cry out: "Why, 
Abbie, is this you ? " She did not cease her grasp 



120 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

of the shawl till she reached the door of her resi- 
dence, when on ascending the steps, she abandoned 
her hold for an instant ; one of the girls at the house 
opened the door at the moment — thus rendering 
unnecessary the ringing of the bell — but when she 
looked for her companion, although hardly three 
seconds had passed, she was gone ! nor could any 
trace of her be discovered, though Mrs. C. ran down 
again into the street, and despatched one of the chil- 
dren of Mrs. Stearns to the contiguous houses; — the 
answer returned by the neighbors questioned was in- 
variably that no such person had been seen by them. 
Sometime afterward, at a circle, the spirit of Mrs. Pike 
came, saying to Mrs. Conant : "Well, Fannie, you 
were determined to see that my dress was really of 
silk, and my shawl of wool." She then told her 
that she had appeared to her in that manner in ac- 
cordance with a promise made while in earth life, 
that she would present herself after her demise so 
plainly that she could not mistake her. Mrs. Conant 
never saw her in like manner again, but her organ- 
ism was controlled by her at different times after- 
ward, a series of letters descriptive of the spirit land 
being given by her, which may be found in the files 
of the Banner of Light for 1859. 

Many singular manifestations of a nature kindred 
to those already described, except that those on the 
mental plane were in the majority over the physical, 
occurred while she resided at Bradford Street, where 
she remained till April, 1861, when herself and hus- 
band became inmates of the house occupied by Mrs. 
A. F. Dewitt, in Ashland Place, Boston. The fam- 
ily removing from thence to Exeter Place, they fol- 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 121 

lowed its fortunes thither. This latter house was 
the scene of a very severe illness for Mrs. Conant. 
She was attacked with a malignant malady (gastric 
fever) which seeking out the chest as its seat seemed 
to ramify throughout the entire system, threatening 
to speedily close her earthly pilgrimage. Looking 
back, in memory, over those days it still seems to 
her a miracle that she recovered. During all these 
hours of trial she was treated and sustained by her 
spirit physician, and Dr. Pike, her unfailing friend. 
" Capt. Gibbs" was also ready, when he could be of 
service, to aid her. 

From Exeter Place, Mr. and Mrs. Conant then re- 
moved to the residence of Mr. Gillett — the brother 
of Mrs. Dewitt — in Cambridgeport. Many excel- 
lent manifestations of a mental character took place 
while residing there. Among the spirits who fre- 
quently controlled the medium at this place was 
Willie Lincoln, the little spirit son of the then Pres- 
ident of the United States. By him, through the 
mediumistic organization of Mrs. C, the reelection 
of his father to the Presidency, and his subsequent 
tragical death at the hand of an assassin, were cor- 
rectly predicted. 

yiii. 

As the object of the present volume is to present 
in as brief and concise a manner as possible the life- 
experiences of Mrs. Conant, the events, manifesta- 
tions, and results flowing from acts performed, are 
presented in groups, each complete as far as may be 
in itself as to detail, but not strictly in chronological 
order. It is. now imperative that some reference 
should be made to another department of labor in 



122 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

the spiritual vineyard in which the subject of this 
biography has performed great and abiding service : 

Prom 1856 to 1857, in connection with her duties 
in the giving of public and private sittings — which 
engaged her time frequently from 9 A. M. to 6 at 
night, and from 7 P. M. to 12 midnight — Mrs. 
Conant lectured in unconscious trance, each Sun- 
day. Her addresses were principally delivered in 
Boston and such places in the vicinity — Charles- 
town, Maiden, Medford, Salem, etc. — as she could 
easily reach on Saturday afternoon, and return from 
on Monday without detriment to her other cares. 
She continued these public addresses till the Banner 
of Light was inaugurated, after which she lectured 
but a few times — once at Foxboro', Mass., and the 
last time at Allston Hall, Boston. Sometimes her 
audience would be allowed to choose the subject 
she was to treat, after she had taken her seat upon 
the platform ; at others the matter to be considered 
would be selected by her spirit guides. 

Her first appearance upon the rostrum as a public 
expounder of the spiritual philosophy, occurred at 
the Meionaon, Tremont Temple, Boston, in July, 
1856, and the circumstances which attended the 
effort did much to enlighten the minds of those 
around her as to the peculiarity of the laws govern- 
ing spirit control. She was to speak in the evening, 
and throughout the day she was so reduced in vitality 
by temporary sickness that she repeatedly declared 
her fears as to the possibility of any spirit being able 
to hold control of her when the time arrived for her 
lecture. Mr. Berry, however, who had announced 
her, was exceedingly anxious that she should make 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 123 

the attempt. On her commencing her discourse the 
spirit — as she had expected — lost possession of her 
organism, and the lecture, so far as a literary produc- 
tion was concerned, proved a failure. Dr. Fisher, 
her guardian, then took control, and to show the 
audience that, owing to conditions sometimes exist- 
ing, certain spirits could hold possession of the instru- 
ment when others could not, continued to influence 
her for upwards of an hour and a half, giving medical 
examinations of all who would come forward for the 
purpose. Those present, who at first became fearful 
of a failure in the meeting, pronounced it, as a spirit- 
ual manifestation, to be a grand success. 

Her second effort was made in Salem, Mass., at 
what was known as the Sewall Place Church, and 
occurred in the following winter. On this occasion 
she was not entranced till she rose to speak — some- 
what to the disquietude of her mind lest her influences 
had deserted her, or would do so, as on a former oc- 
casion — when she was instantly controlled, it seem- 
ing to her that a cloud of light enveloped her ; so 
quickly, indeed, did she lose her perception of the 
scene before her, that when she awoke the impression 
was firmly fixed in her mind that she must have 
fainted. So strong was her belief in this fact, that 
she asked the chairman of the meeting if it were not 
so, and was assured by him that the audience had 
listened, with frequent applause, to a fine lecture 
of over an hour's duration. She afterwards spoke 
at the same place several times, with good results, 
having no further trouble as to her control. 

It will be well to recount here an incident serving 
to illustrate to the reader unacquainted with the 



124 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

phenomenon known as " trance speaking/' the per- 
fect originality of the lectures to be given in the 
mind of the spirit controlling, together with the com- 
plete passivity of the intellectual powers of the medi- 
um. At the time one of the wardens of the Massa- 
chusetts State Prison, located at Charlestown, was 
murdered by a convict, the spirit guides of Mrs. 
Conant gave notice that in view of the public excite- 
ment on the subject, they would speak through her 
organism the next Sunday evening, at Horticultural 
Hall, Boston, with regard to " Prison Discipline." The 
evening arrived, and the house was filled with an audi- 
ence in which skepticism and curiosity were largely 
developed, and much interest appeared to exist as to 
what "the spirits" could know or impart concerning 
the management of convicted felons on earth. But 
there came no lecturer, though nearly half an hour 
beyond the time announced had passed away. The 
medium, who was then boarding at the National House, 
had forgotten the engagement entirely. On the ap- 
pearance of Mr. Tubbs and his lady at the hall, the 
management eagerly asked: "Where is Mrs. Co- 
nant?" and after a moment's consideration they were 
obliged to reply that they did not know — that they 
had seen her sometime before they left the house, in 
the sitting-room, but giving no signs of preparation 
for her departure for the hall. Justly concluding 
that she had forgotten her appointment, the commit- 
tee hastily despatched a carriage to bring her to the 
place of meeting. On her arrival the impatient audi- 
ence were perfectly satisfied with having waited, the 
address which followed being pronounced as remark- 
able in its grasp and thorough in its exposition of the 



MRS. J. H. CON ANT. 125 

subject. Several highly complimentary notices were 
given of it by the daily press of the city. 

Another field of success for her as an exponent 
of the teachings of Spiritualism was in her native 
city, Portsmouth, in which she fairly disproved the 
maxim that " a prophet is not without honor, save in 
his own country." She visited that quiet city in the 
fall of 1856, without notifying any of her relatives 
that she was to speak there. Her father (who had 
in 1842 been married again 7— his second wife's 
maiden name being Dorcas Grant) came home one 
day, saying to his wife quite excitedly that posters 
were out " down town," announcing that Mrs. J. H. 
Conant would speak on Spiritualism, and that he 
believed it must be his daughter Fannie. On her 
arrival in the city he attended her lectures, and such 
was the interest created by her speeches among the 
people, that he was soon surrounded by many in- 
quirers desirous of knowing the facts concerning her 
early history, and how long she had been possessed 
of this gift. On the latter subject he was forced to 
admit that he could give no information. She after- 
wards, at different seasons, addressed the people of 
Portsmouth, at Lord's Chapel, and the Academy 
Building. At the close of one of her lectures in the 
latter hall she was surprised to meet with a number 
of her deceased mother's church friends, who were 
present and congratulated her upon her success in 
the exposition of the cause she had espoused, and 
at the evidences of public favor which followed her 
ministrations. 



126 A BIOGRAPHY OF 



IX. 



Leaving Cambriclgeport, she returned to the Cum 
mings House, Boston, after which she went to live in 
Medford, and then removed to Watertown. While 
there her residence was named Kanagawah Lodge, by 
her Indian friends — the word Kanagawah signifying 
"teacher" — as an acknowledgment, on their part, of 
her labors for the enlightenment of their race. She then 
returned to Mrs. Pope's residence in Boston for a second 
term in 1867. After continuing some two years at 
the latter place, she removed her residence to No. 69 
Dover Street, where lived Mrs. Dewitt with whom 
she had formerly been located in Ashland and Exe- 
ter Places. During all this time her mediumistic 
labors were ■unremitting, but nothing out of the reg- 
ular course as detailed in the preceding pages oc- 
curred. Shortly after her arrival at Dover Street 
she was attacked by a virulent fever, which pros- 
trated her almost immediately, and continued for a 
long season, with no improvement in the patient. 
During the first of her illness she was under treat- 
ment of Dr. Pike as before, but her husband was 
exceedingly anxious that the homeopathic system 
should be tried in her case ; a band of spirits who 
had manifested through her had also frequently ex- 
pressed a desire that that style of practice might be 
used for awhile at least ; and finally, yielding to the 
request of both, thinking she could not possibly re- 
cover from the disease, she gave her consent that her 
old friend and medical adviser should be discharged 
and the experiment inaugurated. The spirits advo- 
cating the change asked only three days for the trial, 



MRS. J. H. CONAHT. 127 

but after the homeopathists had conducted her case 
from February 1st, 1869, to March 2d, same year, 
the patient continuing to grow more reduced, till she 
was unable to raise her head from her pillow unaided, 
the regular band of spirits by whom she had been 
assisted and controlled in the past — who had either 
been forced away from her by uncongenial magnet- 
isms, or had yielded the field that the new comers 
might make the experiment fully and to their 
own satisfaction — returned, and influencing her, 
demanded that Dr. Pike be recalled, and the hom- 
eopathists discharged. The Doctor, thinking only 
of his dying wife's injunction, waived all memory of 
the indignity put upon him, and resumed the case, 
though he said it was hard to be recalled at the 
eleventh hour. 

When he entered the room, the patient looked at 
her old physician, and said : 

" Doctor, do you think you can cure me ? " 

"Yes — I can I" he replied. 

He, however, was obliged to admit that the ex- 
treme weakness into which she had fallen would 
necessitate a considerable length of time in her re- 
covery ; in fact, he doubted if she ever entirely sur- 
mounted the effects of the fever — which has proved 
to be the case. She, however, gradually grew 
stronger, and one day, after nearly two months of 
prostration, he announced to her that he was about 
to take her to the Circle Room. 

" Why ! " she exclaimed, " I cannot trust myself 
to go there so soon." 

" Let some one else trust you, then," confidently 
replied the Doctor, " it will do you good to go out." 



128 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

She made the venture, and found herself possessed 
of sufficient strength to visit the circle room, go up 
the two flights of stairs without receiving aid from 
any visible agent, attend to the duties of her medi- 
umship, and again return, without serious difficulty, 
to her own home. The words of the Doctor were 
verified, and she continued from this time slowly to 
improve, till she attained a degree of health compat- 
ible with the regular discharge of business engage- 
ments. 

During her convalescence from this sickness, her 
husband, whose anxiety had preyed upon his mind 
to too great an extent, began to exhibit signs of in- 
sanity, and finally succumbed to the mental malady 
to such an extent that it was found necessary — on a 
consultation of Drs. Walker, Fisher, and McKay, of 
the South Boston Asylum — to remove him to the 
lunatic hospital at Taunton, Mass. At this retreat 
he remains at the present time, having as yet shown 
no signs of recovery. 



PART VI. 



FURTHER INCIDENTS.— TEACHINGS OF THE 
SPIRIT WORLD. 



PART VI. 



" Ours the wide temple where worship is free 

As the wind of the prairie, the wave of the sea; 
You may build your own altar wherever you will, 
For the roof of that temple is over you still. 

"One dome overarches the star-bannered shore; 
You may enter the Pope's or the Puritan's door, 
Or pass with the Buddkist his gateway of bronze, 
For a priest is but Man, be he bishop or. bonze." 

— Oliver Wendell Holmes. 



While Mrs. Conant was for the second time re- 
siding at Mrs. Pope's, a lady, (who it afterward 
appeared was related to Andrew Johnson, then Pres- 
ident of the United States,) called at the office of the 
Banner of Light, and desired to know if she could by 
any means obtain a private seance with her. Being 
referred to Mr. William White, the chairman, he 
informed her that the medium seldom gave such sit- 
tings, but that she might confer with her when the 
circle about to be held was concluded, and perhaps 
she would grant her request. When the seance was 
ended, the stranger made known her wish to Mrs. 
C, who, although she protested that she did not and 
could not give a private sitting to anybody, finally 
yielded to the entreaties of the lady upon the assur- 

131 



132 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

ance that her would-be patron had come a long dis- 
tance to consult her upon important business. The 
medium asked her visitor why she was so confident 
that an exception to the general rule would be made 
in her case, as to undertake a long journey in the 
face of seeming uncertainty, and was informed that 
at a circle in Washington, D. C, some of her (Mrs. 
C.'s) own guardian band of spirits had told her so. 
Satisfied that if such was the case, something of more 
than ordinary interest was involved, Mrs. Conant 
made an agreement by which the lady was to come 
to her rooms on the following afternoon at 3 o'clock 
(there being no circle on that day.) At the time 
specified, the stranger made her appearance, but was 
told by the influences contrelling, that they would be 
unable to accomplish what she wished in a less period 
than ten days. " I will wait," she answered. The 
medium desired to know her residence ; to which she 
replied that she was stopping at the Revere House, 
and that she would return for a sitting at the expira- 
tion of the allotted period. On the tenth (which 
was Friday, and not a public circle) day, Mrs. Conant 
remained at home in expectation of her unknown 
visitor, but she did not keep her appointment, which 
was thought by the medium to be a strange circum- 
stance when she remembered how anxious she ap- 
peared to be for its consummation. The next day 
(also a leisure one for her) Mrs. Conant went out, 
and while in the business portion of the city making 
some purchases, she became aware of the presence of 
"Spring-Flower" — a young Indian girl, one of her 
guides — who said : 

".Go home ; your visitor is there to-day." 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 133 

The medium, somewhat piqued by the lady's failure 
to keep her engagement on the previous day, replied : 

"I am under no obligation to go home." 

" I know it," answered the spirit, " but } r ou must 
go home." 

Rather unwillingly Mrs. C. entered a car, and 
on arriving at her rooms found the lady in waiting ; 
she having repaired thither, and removed her cloak 
and hat in a manner at once familiar and full of con- 
fidence. As Mrs. Conant opened the door of the 
apartment, the visitor said : 

" I know I am a day late, but your spirit friends 
told me that I should see you." 

The medium then asked — as she had on a previ- 
ous occasion — "through whom?" but her visitor 
refused to disclose the channel of communication. 
In answer to the question whether she had remained 
in Boston during the ten days demanded by the in- 
visibles, she said she had not ; that she was troubled 
with a tendency to pneumonia, which the climate of 
the East served to aggravate, and her physician had 
ordered her to go South again ; she had therefore 
returned to Washington, and had been delayed one 
day in her journey back to Boston. 

The two proceeded to take seats at the table, but 
after remaining in a passive condition for nearly an 
hour, nothing of interest occurred, and Mrs. C. wished 
to close the seance ; the lady, however, earnestly re- 
quested her to continue. Taking a letter from her 
pocket, and giving it to the medium she asked : 

" What impression do you get concerning this ? " 

" I can 't think of anything but Andy Johnson," 
answered Mrs. Conant, laughingly. 



134 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

" Well, he is a good person to think of," returned 
the visitor; "sit still, and I am sure we shall obtain 
something." 

Her recommendation was followed for sometime 
longer, and then the medium's hand was controlled, 
a message of several pages being written, which the 
lady seemed to understand thoroughly, although Mrs. 
C. was unable to fathom it for herself. The medium 
was then entranced, and so continued for upward of 
an hour, at the expiration of which, the lady declared 
herself perfectly satisfied with what she had received, 
and said that the spirits had requested her to wait a 
few days longer — they having further advice to give. 
She asked, before leaving : 

" Shall I send this manuscript to the one who is 
waiting for it? " and the answer was written : " No 
— telegraph that you have obtained it, and that you 
are to wait for more." 

At the expiration of the time appointed by the 
spirits the lady returned, and at the conclusion of 
the sdance stated that some day she would acquaint 
the medium with the importance of the business 
transacted through her organism ; but this promise 
has not yet been fulfilled. Mrs. Conant's spirit 
friends, however, apprised her that her visitor was 
a relative of President Johnson, and that she had 
been sent to Boston to discover, if possible, what 
was to be the result of the movement then on foot 
for his impeachment by the Senate. Of the truth of 
the latter portion of the story she felt confirmed in 
her own mind, as she was obliged to translate certain 
passages of the messages written by the spirits to the 
lady, that she might understand the hurriedly writ- 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 135 

ten words. Several of these points which thus be- 
came familiar, were recognized by her in some of the 
state papers of President Johnson put forth at that 
and subsequent dates. Among other things of which 
he was assured by the spirits (and, of course, of the 
most importance to him at the time) was the fact 
that he would not and could not be deposed. The 
quotations recognized were made, from the reasons 
assigned by the unseen intelligences to substantiate 
their opinion. 

A sister of Gen. McCook, of "Ohio, who was stop- 
ping at Washington, was one day astonished by the 
appearance in her presence of a senatorial friend of 
hers, who jocularly remarked : 

"I have got a letter for you from the 'dead-letter' 
office." He at the same time exhibited a copy of the 
Banner of Light, in the Message Department of which 
was a word from her brother ; but instead of treating 
the matter lightly, as the Senator had anticipated, she 
read it in good faith as a greeting from the " other 
side of life," and subsequently, being acquainted with 
President Johnson, sought his advice with regard to 
the course she ought to pursue concerning the mat- 
ter. He told her to visit Boston in person, and said 
that calling upon the medium would be the shortest 
and most reliable method of satisfying herself as to the 
genuineness of the message. She accordingly made 
the journey, and remained several days in the city, 
during which time Mrs. Conant gave her a number 
of private sittings which were highly satisfactory. 

Two incidents, out of chronological order, but 
pertinent as showing the complete passivity of Mrs. 
Conant to the influence of the unseen intelligences, 



136 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

are here presented : the publishers, perceiving the rap- 
idity and skill with which her hand was used by the 
spirits for mechanically transcribing their thoughts, 
suggested that the invisibles should make the effort 
to prepare a lengthy article, or story, if they so pleased, 
for the columns of the Banner of Light. Obedient 
to the directions of her guides, the medium appointed 
an hour each day in which the spirits were to write 
— she remaining all the while in a normal state — 
and they regularly fulfilled their part of the plan. 
She was not allowed at the close of this hour or dur- 
ing the interim of writing again, to peruse the manu- 
scripts written ; the reason assigned being, that by 
so doing, her own mind would become interested in 
the recital, and consequently she would not be so 
easily brought under control by the spirit authors. 
So complete was her ignorance of the story as its 
plot was unfolded, that she refused at first to read 
the proofs brought her from the printing office by 
Mr. Colby, declaring that as she had nothing to do 
with writing it, she must not become responsible for 
the correctness of its details ; but on it being inti- 
mated to her by the spirit authors that by her read- 
ing the story in the proof they would be enabled to 
impress her mind should any error exist, she con- 
sented so to do. The title-page — which was not 
written till the narrative was completed — -announced 
as its name : " The Hermit of the Powow ; " and the 
incidents developed proved it to be drawn from 
scenes and occurrences happening in the vicinity of 
Mr. Colby's native town — Amesbury, Mass. 

A German musician, whose knowledge of the Eng- 
lish language was very limited, on his arrival in this 
country was met by an old acquaintance of his in the 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 137 

Fatherland, and after some conversation on other 
subjects, the matter of Spiritualism was introduced, 
the friend being a firm believer in the spiritual phi- 
losophy. The new-comer was rather inclined to 
treat the subject in a non-serious light. He finally 
demanded of his friend if the spirits could write Ger- 
man through a medium who did not^ individually, 
know a word of that language. 

The reply, unhesitatingly, was, " Yes." 

" Impossible ! " exclaimed the immigrant. 

"Let us go to a medium, and demonstrate it," re- 
torted the resident. 

They visited such a person, and on a spirit taking 
control, they were informed that the test required 
could not be given through that instrument, but that 
if they would call upon Mrs. Conant — the unseen 
intelligence giving them her address — they would 
be successful. They were much puzzled, as they 
had no acquaintance with the lady, but, obedient to 
instructions, they hastened to find her residence. On 
reaching it, and ringing the door-bell, they were met 
by a servant, to whom, in broken English, the object 
of their visit was explained — i. e., that they desired 
a private sitting with Mrs. Conant. On their message 
being delivered to Mrs. C, she directed the girl to 
inform the gentlemen that she was not at that time in 
the habit of giving private sittings, and must decline 
their request. Her directions were obeyed, and the 
visitors rose to depart, but before they had closed the 
outer door in going, she was strongly impressed to 
hasten down the stairs herself, and call them back 
again — the impression proving too powerful to be 
withstood. At her statement that by some intelli- 



138- A BIOGRAPHY OF 

gence she was inwardly advised to *give them the 
sitting they desired, they returned. The non-English 
speaking German had with him a flute, and his friend, 
(who was more acquainted with the Anglo-Saxon 
tongue) requested him to play a soft air, understand- 
ing the importance of harmony at a circle or sitting, 
and desirous of quieting the powerful and skeptical 
will of his companion by interesting him in the tune 
to be played — thus rendering him passive in aid 
of the occurrences sought to be compassed. Mrs. 
Conant sat at the table with pencil and paper ready 
for whatever influence might choose to indite an 
epistle. While the performer was yet engaged in 
playing, the medium's hand was controlled, and she 
proceeded mechanically to write with the utmost 
rapidity, in German, a missive directed to the skep- 
tical one before her. The message purported to be 
from his father, and was couched in his style of ex- 
pression ; indeed, so perfectly true was it as to detail, 
and correct in idiom, that the doubter was extremely 
moved, and told his delighted Spiritualist friend that 
he was utterly confounded. His attention thus sig- 
nally called to the matter, he continued his investiga- 
tions, and shortly afterward became convinced beyond 
doubt of the truth of spirit return and communion. 

Here are two queries for the solution of the sci- 
entific. How were the "Hermit of the Powow " 
and this letter in an entirely foreign language, of 
which the medium was utterly ignorant, produced, 
except as claimed by Mrs. Conant, viz., that disem- 
bodied intelligences, once mortal but now freed from 
" physical " chains — conversant Avith the facts of the 
story, and the German language aforesaid, controlled 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 139 

her hand — she remaining in a passive condition — 
and wrote out the two mechanically, without the 
least aid from her mental faculties ? 

In May, 1871, Mrs. Conant removed from 69 
Dover street, with the Dewitt family, to their new 
residence, 76 Waltham street, Boston, where she at 
present resides. During her sojourn at this place 
nothing of interest, aside from what has been in gen- 
eral character indicated in the foregoing pages, has 
occurred. 

II. 

But a brief space of time has elapsed since that ef- 
fective, close-drawn, and eloquent compend of the 
teachings of the unseen world through the medium of 
the Questions and Answers Department of the Banner 
of Light, as weekly delivered by Mrs. Conant at the 
Public Free Circles : Flashes of Light from the Spirit 
Land, Was given to the world. No need exists that 
a word of approbation should here be spoken con- 
cerning that remarkable volume — it stands by itself 
in the field of Spiritual literature, a pyramidal some- 
thing upon which breadth of diction, originality of 
thought, and depth of penetration have affixed their 
seal. The lessons it contains are recommended to 
the reader of the present volume, as the Flashes may 
be regarded as a sheaf of selected wheat laid upon 
the threshing floor of public opinion, and which fears 
not the flail of the truth seeker, however much the 
unthinking may, through inattention or willful blind- 
ness, lose sight of the golden grain it yields at every 
stroke. The information bestowed by angelic intelli- 
gences, through the organism of Mrs. Conant, and 
other media all over the world, has tended to broaden 



140 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

the view of the moral conservative, and open grander 
scenes to the daring world-finders of religious liberal- 
ism. Already, filled by the divine afflatus vouch- 
safed to the present hour, the scattered videttes of 
the great army of human progress, pushing forward 
into the dim unknown, have crossed the " silent river," 
and stood triumphant (even if but momentarily) where 
the tented hills of immortal life are bright with the 
glory of a sun that shall "never more go down!" 
As it were to erect a milestone on the road of human 
progress, the following eloquent epitome of the gen- 
eral teachings of the Spiritual Philosophy (as enun- 
ciated by the subject of this sketch, and her brothers 
and sisters in the field) is presented in the words of 
another : 

" Looking beyond it, [the physical change called death,] what 
awaits us? Penetrating the thin veil which separates the spiritual 
from the material, what do we see with the purified vision of faith 
and love ! An endless ascension from sphere to sphere — a per- 
petual growth in knowledge and affection — a constant acquisition 
of new faculties — a boundless expansion of the horizon of obser- 
vation and perception — a glorious and inspiring intercourse with 
the prophets and seers, the sages and philosophers, the poets and 
artists of all antiquity — the power to survey the entire field of 
mundane history, from the first moment of our planet's existence 
until the hour at which we were permitted to take our departure 
from it. And through the ages yet to come — which will be to 
us like those which have rolled away — a perpetual now, we 
shall watch with the deepest interest and the tenderest solicitude, 
the progress of our race upon the earth. We shall be permitted, 
indeed, to instruct, to comfort, to counsel, and to guide them ; 
and we shall be enabled to comprehend — though still in a finite 
degree — the eternal truth that God is love." 

In the field of Spiritual revelation, however, the 
student often meets with statements which for a 
moment shock all his preconceived notions regarding 



MKS. J. H. . CONANT. 141 

the sciences ; geography, chemistry, natural history, 
etc., are apparently brought to the bar of condemna- 
tion ; but these points thus raised are to be submitted 
to the action of reason for acceptation or rejection, 
and as educated perceptions are the vertebras in the 
spinal column of reason, in proportion to the depth 
of understanding, and power of receptivity, will be 
the action of a new truth among the various members 
of society. The existence of said truth is not, however, 
endangered by doubts ; it can always afford to wait till 
the appropriate hour arrives for it to be recognized. 

Mrs. Conant's experiences, for instance, have led 
her to accept, and to advocate as true, the ideas, old 
as human thought on the subject, though scouted by 
many leaders of scientific and theologic opinion, that 
animals while living in this rudimentary sphere have 
the power, by reason of opened sight, to penetrate 
into " the internal atmosphere of the natural earth," 
and behold objects not to be detected by ordinary 
human vision; that they are often "impressed or 
inspired by an influx from that spiritual world which 
is in such contiguity with us all," and that when 
their brief existence on earth is passed, there remains 
for them another and happier state of being. Among 
other demonstrations received by her of the truth of 
the former proposition, none may be ranked as more 
convincing than the conduct of her favorite dog, 
" Carlo," which animal she cherished as a pet for 
many years. On several occasions, spirits anxious to 
manifest themselves at the circle, but unable to do 
so, have followed her to her own room, and lingered 
around her, causing her to be cognizant of their 
presence, and inducing a morbid nervousness which 



142 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

forced her to walk the floor without cessation, and 
with no apparent prospect of relief. At such times 
the dog would accompany her in her pacings up 
and down the apartment, growling and showing his 
teeth, the hair upon his back biistling with rage. If 
she ordered him to lie down and be quiet, he would 
do so, but perceiving the spirits about to advance 
again,- he would start up, snarling, and come to her 
side, snapping at the intruders — always pointing out 
the place where they stood as plainly as did her 
own perceptions — and when they had left the apart- 
ment, he would give vent to his satisfaction in joyous 
gambols. 

A favorite cat, which was much in her company, 
also showed that she discerned the spirits who fre- 
quented the rooms. Mrs. Conant has for years (as 
heretofore stated) passed, from habit and necessity, 
the hours preceding the stance, on circle days, in 
sitting quietly in her room — seeing no company, and 
avoiding anything of a disturbing tendency. It was 
the custom of this cat at such times to curl herself 
upon the carpet at the feet of the medium and fall 
asleep, rarely ever stirring from that posture till the 
lady arose to go out. On one such occasion, while 
the cat was thus positioned and circumstanced, Mrs. 
Conant became deeply interested in a book she was 
perusing, and suddenly awoke to the fact that she 
had overstepped the limits of the time allowed for 
reaching the office. Looking up, she perceived stand- 
ing by her side, the spirit of Father Fitz James (one 
of her guardian band) who said : " You are ten min- 
utes late ! " Before Mrs. C. had time to make the 
slightest movement, which might be considered as 



MftS. J. H. CONANT. 143 

causing the cat to awake, that animai opened its 
eyes, looked straight upward toward the influence, 
and springing upon " all-fours," with curved back, 
and all the usual signs of anger or fear, proceeded to 
" spit " at him after the most approved feline manner. 
This demonstration concluded, as if to warn her mis- 
tress, the cat sought shelter in the further corner of 
the room beneath some of the furniture. The medium 
distinctly saw the spirit smile at the excited move- 
ments of the animal, after which he disappeared. 

III. 

As items of evidence in proof of the verity of the 
second proposition, the following incidents are pre- 
sented. While she was once in the neighborhood of 
Medford in company with a party of friends in an 
uncomfortably crowded vehicle, the plan was pro- 
posed to make a short cut through the woods, by 
which four miles could be saved. All favored the 
project except Mrs. Conant. who could not think of 
it approvingly, though she was not able to tell why 
she objected thereto. Hardly, however, had the head 
of the horse been turned toward the desired direction 
than the animal began to rear and plunge in a man- 
ner entirely at variance with his previous reputation 
as a very quiet family beast. The party, who had 
just overpowered Mrs. Conant's objections to the 
wood path, now begun anxiously to inquire of her : 
" What is the matter? " while the horse at the same 
time commenced a backward movement which threat- 
ened to be anything but agreeable. The medium 
said she did not know what this portended, but she 
could see that her Indian control, WapanaW, was 



144 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

standing directly before the horse, refusing to allow 
him to proceed, and evidently strongly impressing 
him with a disposition to take the steps in retrograde 
just referred to. The medium was certain that the 
horse could perceive the spirit and feel his warning 
influence as plainly as she could herself ; but the 
party being skeptical on that point, she desired that 
the animal be turned in the opposite direction and 
along the regular road ; the point would then be set- 
tled as to whether it was a cautionary disembodied 
human spirit, or his own obstinacy which troubled 
the equine. On turning the carriage the horse moved 
off soberly as was his wont, and the journey was com- 
pleted without accident. 

Mrs. Conant, while residing on Hanson Street, 
Boston, was suffering from incipient congestion of 
the heart, and while " down town " one day, became 
aware of the danger of a crisis in her case. She 
made the best of her way, fainting and exhausted, 
toward the office of Dr. Pike (which fortunately 
was situated not far off) and succeeded in reaching 
it, when she sank upon a sofa. The spirit of Mr. 
Berry (her former friend and patron) then took con- 
trol of her organization and informed the doctor that 
there was extreme doubt of her surviving the attack, 
but that he thought he could hold control till she 
could be removed to her home. The doctor at once 
proceeded with his. charge, by private conveyance, 
to her house, being obliged to carry his patient up 
the steps and stairs to her room. Arriving there 
he deposited his almost insensible burden upon a 
lounge. At this juncture the dog " Carlo," who 
seemed to be moved by some strong excitement, sud- 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 145 

denly whined and sprung from the floor, striking her 
heavily upon the breast ; he then begun to lick her 
face, and to breathe vigorously into her nostrils. 
She awoke to consciousness in a brief season, and in- 
formed the physician — who had at the first decided 
to drive the dog away; but either on second thought, 
or in obedience to spirit impression, concluded to allow 
him to continue — that she seemed to be dead, the 
spirit appearing to be completely free from the physi- 
cal form, when the sudden blow struck by the dog 
called her back to her body (having probably set the 
heart in motion) and the magnetic life imparted by his 
breathing on and licking her face, brought her again 
to conscious existence, and saved her for the work yet 
marked out for her — as for all — in the great plan 
of eternal wisdom. 

IV. 

This dog " Carlo " departed from his material form 
on Christmas day in 1870, and was buried, with his 
bed, in Mrs. Conant's lot at the Forest Hill Ceme- 
tery, which lies outside the Highland District of 
Boston. The day after he was interred, the spirit of 
Charles H. Crowell, (brother of Mrs. Conant, and 
himself a remarkable medium) appeared to her, tell- 
ing that her pet was with him in spirit life. 

For eighteen years had " Carlo " patiently trotted 
along the devious path of canine experience — grow- 
ing lame and deaf (in common with the majority of 
humanity) as age came on, and at last a singular 
friendship appeared to spring up between himself 
and a young dog named " Gip," the property of Mrs. 
Dewitt, at whose house Mrs. C. was then making 
her home. When " Carlo" went out into the street, 



146 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

" Gip " would follow to look after the safety of his 
infirm companion, which he would do with as much 
care as if he were a child conducting an aged pa- 
rent through the crowded streets of the metropolis. 
Often when " Carlo " ventured a short distance from 
the house alone, " Gip " would go, if informed of the 
fact, and bring him back, leading him by the collar, 
with unerring fidelity. 

Satisfied beyond doubt by the teachings and impres- 
sions of the spirits who are her constant companions, 
Mrs. Conant confidently expects to meet and regain 
her pet in the world toward which she is going, just 
as surely as she possessed him in this sphere of fading 
materiality. She thinks that there is but a step be- 
tween us and the animal creation, and that that step 
does not rob them of their immortality. 

" Shall we not, in that dim Beyond 
Find all the small links, true and fond, 

That clung so closely round us here ? 
Home is so dear on earth, we doubt 
If we should know our Home without 

The humble things that made it dear." 

The idea involved in the declaration that there is 
a future life for the animal creation, challenging, as it 
does man's proud claim for himself alone, has, after 
all, rather been held in abeyance than distinctly con- 
demned by the cultivated and thinking classes of all 
past times ; while the more ignorant have been seem- 
ingly satisfied with the assurance of many would-be 
molders of public opinion, that they are possessed 
of a something radically different in essence from 
that incarnated in the brute, the great mass of specu- 
lators and metaphysicians have placed it, in common 
with many other subjects bordering upon the occult 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 147 

in Nature's arcana, behind a screen in a shadowy 
alcove of the mind, and over its hiding place they 
have written " the unknowable." Thus it has rather 
been waived consideration than trodden under foot in 
the open arena of mental conflict and denunciation. 

Some years ago a sketch was issued, purporting to 
give to the world of Christian believers a record of 
the privations undergone by the disciples of their Mas- 
ter, as embodied in the history of the life and labors 
of a self-sacrificing Methodist clergyman in a rough 
and stony field in northern New England, where but 
little pecuniary results flowed into his coffers. Re- 
duced by the expenses of sickness and other outgoes 
incident to the rearing of a large family, this poor 
toiler in the vineyard of souls found it necessary to 
sell his horse, with the aid of which he had been 
enabled to make more endurable the weary mountain 
miles which stretched between his home and those 
of the parishioners he was expected to visit. On the 
day when the favorite " Whitey " was lo be taken to a 
far distant town by his purchaser, the father chanced 
to overhear his two daughters, both of tender years, as 
they conversed with their pet for the last time. Tears 
filled their eyes as they stroked his smooth coat, and 
offered him food in their hands. At last the eldest, 
with quivering lips, said : 

" Poor Whitey, we must bid you good by." 

"But," lisped her infant sister, hopefully, "we 
shall meet him in heaven." 

" No," replied the elder, whose sight, more dim 
from earthly education, saw not the instinctive touch 
of nature conveyed in the words of the younger: 
"Whitey hasn't any soul! he will die, and he will 



148 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

not be in heaven. We shall never — never see him 
again ! ! " whereupon both gave way to their feelings 
in sobs, for whose misery time was the only medicine 
on earth. This view, so briefly yet comprehensively 
stated by the minister's elder daughter, may be re- 
garded as the position blankly assumed by those who 
in maturer life have failed to fully consider all the 
various bearings of the subject, but the majority of 
those who have — if they do not accept to the full 
the logical sequence which follow in their train, agree 
with Ruskin, when he says : 

"There is that in every animal's eye, a dim image and gleam 
of humanity, a flash of strange light, through which their life looks 
out and up to our great mystery of control over them, and claims 
the fellowship of the creature, if not of the soul." 

We are told that : 

" Reason serves when pressed, 
But honest instinct comes a volunteer;" 

And by a critical analysis and classification of the 
impulses of the human mind, it may be said that 
while reason seems a something strengthening with 
the growth, and toughening with the widening of 
educational scope and life experience in the man, 
there also appears another range of feelings, coming 
closer to our interior nature, and which may properly 
bear the designation of human instinct or intuition, 
which clearly defines the surety of certain things 
without calling in, or acknowledging the authority of 
reason in the matter to be treated. To love purely 
is the nearest approach to the atmosphere of the 
angel world vouchsafed us while yet tenants of these 
mortal habitations ; and to feel at least a longing for, 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 149 

if not a certainty of the continued existence of the 
objects of our affection — whether human, animal or 
otherwise, — is the instinctive or intuitive course of 
the bereaved heart, however it may be stifled or 
denied external utterance, and whatever may be the 
barriers of theological education or social position. 

Why should the revelation of the existence of ani- 
mals in the better land, made by the spirits in our 
day, create a jar in the harmonious action of any re- 
flecting mind ? One who has given much attention 
to the subject from the ordinary standpoint of sym- 
pathy for our dumb servitors, has summed up the 
matter by stating that a future life for animals is 
their due, because of their otherwise uncompensated 
sufferings, their sense of identity, notwithstanding 
the constant change in the atoms of their bodily 
structure, their possessing perception, memory, voli- 
tion, affection — many instances of which are recorded 
— a sense of justice, and other qualities which in de- 
gree they share with man. It will not do to present 
as an " insuperable " objection the declaration that 
"in -animals these qualities have a lower range," as 
"they are often developed to an extent beyond what 
we find in infants, idiots, lunatics, in some adult hu- 
man beings, and even some entire tribes of men." 
How much better to agree with the asseverations of 
those, who, passing within the veil, return to us, as- 
suring us to the fullest extent, though not in the exact 
language of this author here quoted, that " Nothing 
fair and beautiful can perish out of the universe of 
God. * * * In the beautiful archetypal world, we 
shall surely find fairer flowers, brighter birds, and ani- 
mals more beauteous than ever were seen here! " 



150 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

On one occasion a touching incident in point, oc- 
curred in the mediumistic experience of Mrs. Conant. 
A lady called on her, seemingly in great sorrow from 
a recent bereavement, and desired a private sitting. 
After waiting for sometime, during which considera- 
ble mental agitation was experienced by the medium 
at the strange delay, and the singular feelings which 
seemed to envelop her, Mrs. Conant passed into a 
trance and saw vividly a tree upon which was perched 
a bright plumaged parrot. This was the sole result 
of the vision, and was so strongly impressed upon 
her recollection that she at once related it to her vis- 
itor, (on regaining a normal state) who was much 
affected by the announcement; she informed the 
medium that she was alone in the world, and had 
for years bestowed her affection — as if to a person — 
upon a pet bird of that species, and that her favorite 
had recently died, since when the solitude she felt 
had been almost unbearable, and she longed to know 
if indeed as some declared, she might hope to meet 
with it again. She was filled with happiness at the 
vision given her by Mrs. Conant, who, as a perfect 
stranger, she considered could not have known her 
circumstances or feelings, and went away from her 
presence cheered by the thought that though the 
voice whose humble imitation of her words had 
served so long to while away the hours of heart lone- 
liness had been stilled, she would surely, one day, 

" Recognize its note 
Among the myriad songs that float 
In that great world All-Beautiful." 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 151 



From the earliest moments of her accredited medi- 
umship Mrs. Conant has been remarkably subject to 
the influences of spirits purporting to have been while 
in earth-life, members of the aboriginal tribes of North 
America. The investigator of Spiritualism has ere this 
discovered the great aid bestowed by Indian spirits, to 
the media of our day ; but to the person reading this, 
who has no such knowledge, it will be well to remark, 
in passing, that the life of the Indian, being on earth 
conducted in accordance with the principles of, or in 
a more direct nearness to, Mother Nature, a knowl- 
edge of the control of the more subtle elements of 
magnetic strength seems to be possessed by his 
arisen spirit in a greater degree than by his white 
brother, whose civilization leads him further and fur- 
ther into the intricacies of artificial customs, appetites 
and fashions, till like the bow continually bent, the 
verve and spring of his physique succumbs to the 
constant strain, and he becomes but a walking au- 
tomaton, or worse, an active "sapper and miner," 
demanding, with an organism famishing for the life 
principle, toll from every person approaching him 
who is so unfortunate as to be negative or sympa- 
thetic. His work is more deadly than that of the 
army engineer corps, in that it is accomplished se- 
cretly ; in the railroad car, the church edifice, the 
lecture hall, the crowded thoroughfare — in all, he 
(or she, as the case may be) is engaged in feeding 
upon the magnetic vitality of those around, sapping 
the springs of their life, and undermining the very 
temple of their being, although the act is as invol- 



152 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

untary on the part of the person so acting, as it is to 
breathe the air by which he is surrounded. Many, 
while not accepting the hypothesis of the transmission 
of the animal forces from one person to another in 
this subtle manner, are yet obliged to acknowledge 
strange feelings of weakness and lassitude attending 
them at times when no particular exertion has been 
put forth* to which they could be traced ; such persons 
have, whether they believe it or not, come into the 
presence of magnetic vampyres — the same being, 
perhaps, one of the natural fruits of an over-ripe 
civilization — as did Mrs. Conant, as related in a 
previous section — and have paid the natural penalty 
of the law of demand and supply. 

This great want is met by the Indian element in 
spirit control. The red man has from the first been 
a spring of healing power to the exhausted media 
upon whom the demands of their calling rest like a 
heavy burden, and also upon all others who have 
come under his benign influence. Especially does 
Mrs. Conant return thanks in her heart to those of 
that race who have been her constant attendants 
and supporters in hours of physical prostration or 
suffering. Among the most pleasant features of her 
control are the unpremeditated evening sittings at her 
residence, where, in the presence of intimate friends, 
" Spring-Flower," " Ne-os-co-le-ta," (both young In- 
dian maidens,) " Vashti," a little Piegan child killed 
at the Wachita massacre, and others, manifest their in- 
terest in earthly affairs — while the medium is "rest- 
ed" in mind and body by their loving presence. Her 
(Mrs. C.'s) name, "Tulular," i.e., "something to see 
through," given by her Indian friends, shows the po- 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 153 

sition occupied by her to them in return for their 
benefits. Her mediumship is similar to that of D. D. 
Home, in many respects. After she has been en- 
tranced an hour or two, and those present have been 
entertained by the invisible friends who control her 
physically and mentally on such occasions, on return- 
ing to consciousness she almost invariably inquires : 
"Who has been here? and what did they say?" 
She will often, without warning, become controlled, 
and as suddenly regain possession of her faculties ; 
sometimes the influence holds possession for a greater 
period, but she rarely knows what has occurred in 
her presence during the time of the continuance of 
this state. 

Naturally desirous of deciding as to the truth of 
the manifestations given through her, (as related to 
her by the friends witnessing them,) she has always 
improved every opportunity of testing the spirits who 
have presented themselves. At the time of her making 
the acquaintance of Colonel Tappan (husband of Cora, 
the celebrated spiritual lecturess,) who was a mem- 
ber of the United States Indian Peace Commission, 
she became particularly desirous of knowing if the In- 
dian influences controlling her were true in their state- 
ments. It was her wont to say, after such spirits had 
made use of her for speaking in their native tongue : 

"How does any one know that the signs and words 
which Spring-Flower and others- use are true and 
correct ? I am unconscious while the manifestation 
is going on, and nobody present can decide whether 
it is sense or nonsense that is spoken through me by 
these Indian spirits. I do not consider the test at 
all satisfactory." 



154 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

She therefore felt a prejudice against the use of 
the so-called Indian tongue through her organism. 
A call made at her residence by the Colonel, togeth- 
er with several gentlemen — among whom was one 
who had been a United States Indian agent for some 
fifteen years, and who claimed to be acquainted with 
a majority of the languages spoken by the aborigines 
on the frontier and in the interior — seemed to offer 
her an excellent opportunity for inquiry, as these 
visitors would undoubtedly be able to understand 
the words and signs of the reputed Indians, if correct,' 
or decide to the contrary, if they were only — as she 
was half inclined to believe — a repetition of unmean- 
ing sounds. " Spring-Flower " at once controlled, 
and was able to converse fluently with the quondam 
agent — indeed, perhaps, having the advantage of 
him, as he had now and then to pause till the desired 
word came to his memory, while his invisible collo- 
cutor appeared in her element. The signs heretofore 
made by the spirit Indians — and repeated at the 
present occasion — were also acknowledged to be 
correct by this gentleman. This afforded the strong- 
est proof to Mrs. Conant concerning the reliability of 
her guides, and should also go far to awaken in the 
mind of the skeptic an inquiry as to the likelihood of 
one so poor in health, and over-worked as to time as 
the medium, obtaining a knowledge of the obscure 
dialects used by the tribes of the far West, even if 
she were able to make the journey there, which was 
impossible under the circumstances. Mrs. Conant 
asked one of the gentlemen of the party if he thought 
"Spring-Flower" could make herself understood — 
were she (Mrs. C.) among the Indians and entranced 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 155 

— to the tribe to which she claimed to have belonged 
in earth life, and he answered that to his mind, she 
could beyond doubt. 

In respect to this peculiarity, by which Indian dia- 
lects are so fluently rendered through Mrs. Conant, 
the spirit Theodore Parker has frequently assured 
her that it is chiefly owing to the fact that, herself 
being partly of Indian descent, her organs of speech 
are naturally fitted for their enunciation. Some pre- 
paredness, either of birth or education, is necessary 
to render the organs of any medium facile for the 
speaking of a foreign tongue. And on the other side 
of life, he informs her, the returning intelligence is 
confined to his (or her) own natural language, or to 
such as he has learned while on earth, unless he has 
become educated in the use of others since coming 
to the spirit world. In that land knowledge is not 
poured in baptismal streams on the head of every 
intelligence — there must be some desire and some 
exercise of the will on the part of spirits when en- . 
franchised from mortality, if they would broaden 
their mental horizon and increase the scope of their 
attainments. 

Several poems, and many beautiful prose utter- 
ances, replete with natural eloquence and power, 
have been given through the lips of Mrs. Conant by 
different Indian spirits ; from among the metrical 
ones the following is selected. At the time of its 
delivery — which was at the close of an address by 
Mrs. Gordon, at the Melodeon, Boston, March 11th, 
1866, — Mrs. C. was, as usual, unconsciously en- 
tranced. The poem was composed in spirit life, and 
delivered by Metoka, a remarkably intelligent Indian 



156 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

squaw, mother of Winona, the subject of the poem, 
and wife of the sachem Wanandago, whose hunting- 
grounds, over two hundred years ago, included the 
territory on which the city of Boston is built, and 
whose wigwam was at the brow of the hill where 
the State House now stands. The chairman read a 
brief legend, furnished by an Indian spirit, which 
explains the custom that often doomed the fairest 
daughters of the red man to a cruel fate, as follows : 

" The white man has customs ; so has the Indian. What the 
Indian thinks right, the white man thinks wrong. What the white 
man thinks right, the Indian thinks wrong. 

" Many moons ago, where the white man now hunts his game, 
the Indian hunted his. Your big books will tell you that. 

' ' When any two or more tribes were at war, the weaker, after 
two suns' fasting, would come together in council, led by a 
sachem, to see what the Great Spirit would tell them to do with 
their young squaws, (for it was the custom of the conquering 
tribe to make slaves of all the young squaws, killing the old, who 
should fall into iheir hands. ) At the rising of the sun, after the 
council had been held all night, it was the custom to call the 
fairest squaw of the tribe and give her the right to choose between 
death at the hands of her nearest kin, or the risk of being cap- 
tured and enslaved by the conquering tribe. Her decision was 
believed to be the voice of the Great Spirit, from which there 
was no appeal. 

' ' Winona, the subject of the simple poem which follows this 
introductory, was the first-born of the house of Wanandago, who 
was at the time sachem of the tribe. (The word sachem, with 
the Indian, means prophet, or spiritual leader.) 

"The hunting-grounds of this tribe were here, where your many 
wigwams now stand ; and the wigwam of the sachem was at the 
brow of the hill where your great wigwam of council now stands. 

' ' When the white man came from over the water, he hunted 
the Indian's game, and gave him no return. He planted his corn 
on the sacred mounds of the Indian, and shed no tears — but 
he gave him his fire-water! And so the Indian grew hot 
against the white man, and he determined to make war with 
him. It was then the Great Spirit spoke to Winona, and the 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 157 

arrow of Wanandago sent her to the land of sunshine and clear 
water, where Metoka, the fair squaw of Wanandago, had gone at 
the coming of Winona." 

Then Metoka, in clear tones, poured forth in sweet, 
musical cadences, the story of 

THE INDIAN MAIDEN WINONA. 

" In the sunlight, in the starlight, •■ 
In the moons of long ago — 
Ere the virgin soil of Shawmut 

Quivered 'neath the white man's plow; 

"Ere the great lakes and the rivers 
Listened to the white man's song; 
Ere the Father of all Waters 

Bore them in his strong arms on ; 

"On, from distant lands and wigwams, 
Where the sun from slumber comes, 
Where the warriors hear the warwhoop 
In the voices of the drums, 

" Lived Winona — child of Nature ! 

First-born, beauteous, dark browed maid 
At whose coming fair Metoka 

Where the flowers bloom was laid. 

" Grew Winona, strong and beauteous, 
Fairer than the flowers of spring ; 
And the echo of her sweet voice 
Made the hills and valleys ring. 

"Did the red deer pass her wigwam - 
Soon it quivered on the plain — 
For the arrow of Winona 
Never left its bow in vain ! 

" Sixteen times the snow had fallen, 
Sixteen times the sun grew dim, 
Since the warriors and the maidens 
Sung Metoka' s funeral hymn. 

" Then the strange voice of the white man 
Rung through all our hunting-grounds ; 
And their swift feet never faltered 
When they neared our sacred. mounds ! 

" All our game their long guns hunted, 
Quickly making it their own, 



158 A BIOGRAPHY OF 



Heeding not the maiden's sighing, 
Fearing not the warrior's frown! 

" Then the voice of Wanandago 
Fell in accents soft and low, 
Asking, would the fair Winona 
To the land of sunlight go ? 

" Quick the answer came, like shadows 

Filling all his soul with night — 
' I will go, O, mighty sachem, 
Where the sky is always bright ; 

"Where our hunting-grounds are greater; 
Where the water's always clear; 
Where the spirits of our fathers 

Chant the red man's hymn of cheer!' 

" Soon the warriors and the maidens 
Sing again their funeral song ! 
For the spirit of Winona 
To the land of light was born ! 

"But to-night she comes to greet you, 
Comes in meekness, comes in love ; 
And with gentle hands would lead you 
To that land of light above ; 



Where no more the sun grows dim ; 
Where the warriors and the maidens 
Chant no more their funeral hymn ; 

: In that land where stars are brighter, 
Where the moonbeams softly fall, 

And the great Manito's blessing, 
Like the sunlight's over all; 

; There the Indian holds his council, 

And his thoughts grow great and strong 

As the angels teach forgiveness 
For the white man's fearful wrong. 

' Here his tomahawk and arrows 

Rest beneath your wigwams grand ; 

There his soul drinks in the wisdom 
Of the glorious spirit-land. 

; Fare you well, ye pale-faced mortals, 
Till in council you shall stand, 

Face to face with fair Winona, 
In the Indian's Morning Land." 



PAST VII 



PECULIAK MA2OTESTATI0NS OF SPIRIT POWER.' 

INTRICACIES OF CONTROL. 



PART VII. 



'Life, we've been long together 
Through pleasant and through cloudy weather ; 
'Tis hard to part when friends are dear, 
Perhaps 'twill cost a sigh, a tear; 
Then steal away — give little warning, 

Choose thine own time ; 
Say not " good night," but in some brighter clime 
Bid me "good morning." — Mrs. Barbauld. 



As hinted in a preceding section, some of the most 
interesting manifestations of spirit existence and in- 
telligence in the experience of Mrs. Conant have 
occurred, and are still taking place at her residence 
in the presence of hers-elf and friends when gathered 
for private social converse. On such occasions, often 
without warning, the medium passes under control, 
and many spirits, who by reason of their frequent 
coming seem as old friends to those visiting her 
rooms, give their greetings — some speaking on sci- 
entific themes with any desirous of discussing them 
— others relating their earth experiences; many spirit 
children also rejoice there, as if on a play-ground in 
the recess of school hours. The intelligences mani- 
festing at these impromptu circles, are by no means, 
however, always the same, as many stranger ones 
are introduced from time to time to the medium by 
those in the other life who have learned the path of 

161 



162 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

communion. Many important and startling facts — 
the majority of which the world at large is not yet 
ready to receive — have been communicated by those 
controlling at these reunions. The pages of this 
division of the book (Part VII.) are devoted to the 
detailing of many interesting incidents which have 
occurred at these private circles, and which have 
never received publicity before. They are extracted, 
by permission, from the diary of Dr. J. T. Gilman 
Pike, who has been for years the faithful friend and 
medical attendant of the medium. At the conclusion 
of each of these seances, the Doctor, has, on reach- 
ing his hotel, formed the habit of transcribing their 
leading features, thereby preserving them ere they 
escaped the grasp of his memory. The giving of 
these messages cannot be considered as a digression ; 
for the strongest value which accrues to the life-work 
of Mrs. C, arises from the pure and elevated char- 
acter of the communications which have proceeded 
from her lips, or been written mechanically through 
her hand ; and no account of her experiences which 
fails to consider this department of her labors in all 
its phases can be regarded as even approximately 
complete. 

Many questions will arise in the mind of the en- 
quirer who peruses this account — (as heretofore said 
concerning the teachings of spirits at the public cir- 
cles) and such must be referred, as in the former case, 
to the action of his or her interior perceptions of right. 
The facts are here put on record with confidence on 
the part of the Doctor, who transcribed, and the 
medium through whom they were given, that future 
revelations as time rolls on will prepare the great 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 163 

mass of society to see more clearly many points now 
so shrouded by doubt regarding the " solemn mystery " 
of the after life. The number of those is even now 
large, who while still beholding God's glorious Sheki- 
nah gleaming between the wings of the cherubim on 
the ark of the church, are yet led by their inner natures 
to echo the words of the candid and fearless Sweden- 
borgian editor, who, on attending a remarkable stance 
for physical manifestations in the presence of an- 
other medium, published in his magazine, " The New 
Church Independent" the following tribute of ac- 
knowledgment to what shall be the hope and truth 
of the coming years : 

' ' We venture no opinion upon the modus operandi of these 
phenomena, or their disorder. That they are the work of spirits, 
we cannot doubt. Glod, in his providence, knows for what good 
they are permitted. There is much that is fleeting, evanescent, 
and unsatisfactory in these physical outbreaks from the realms 
of spirits, which are but the foamy waves from the great ocean of 
spiritual existence, breaking upon the rocks and shoals of Time. 
We would not recall our evening with the invisible company. The 
memory of it will linger with us as the echoes from some sweet 
and pleasant dream, in which the angels came to us like those 
on Jacob's ladder; where the little hands of our loved ones 
touched us, and their whispering voices assured us that immor- 
tality is not a fiction, but a grand and beautiful reality." 

And this vantage ground gained in the hearts of 
the multitude in the brief space of twenty-five years, 
by the Spiritual Philosophy, in the face of the great- 
est opposition, social as well as theological, will be 
held and further extended among men, to the accep- 
tance perhaps of many points which at present stag- 
ger even the judgment of the believer in the return 
of disembodied souls. 



164 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

Casting a glance of inquiry along the pages of the 
Doctor's record of remarkable messages and scenes, 
as given through, or in presence of Mrs. Conant, the 
eye rests at the earliest date upon a communication 
given in the early spring of 1857, by a lady in spirit 
land, who seeing that a dark cloud of despondency 
hung over the soul of her husband, made haste to use 
all the means in her power to dispel it, and therefore 
improved the opportunity to manifest through the 
medium, shedding upon his path — as a true wife 
should — the light of celestial consolation: 

1 ' To my dear companion in earth-life : — I wish to bear a 
message of love, truth, and immortal affection. When the wild 
and angry waves of earth's sorrows dash against thy bark as it 
is speeding down the stream of life, fear not, for an angel is at 
the helm. However dark the clouds, and wild the storm, you 
shall land in safety. Oh, strive, my beloved one, to cast off all 
sorrow, and dwell in the sunshine of an angel's love ; for the 
angels are with you, and they see the sombre cloud ; ere long 
they will illume it with golden hues. The sands in your hour- 
glass are now covered with darkness; oh, have faith, and they 
shall yet shine as fine gold. The angels are at work, and soon 
you shall taste of the fruits of what they are sowing. Dear 
one, I at this time leave my home in the realms of light and 
glory, to visit your dark plain, in answer to the call of sadness. 
Oh, let me not come in vain. * * * Remember, my beloved, 
the angels are saying : — ' Peace — be still ! ' and shall not thy 
interior being respond ' Amen ! ' thus uniting with the loved 
ones as they are seeking to enshroud you with a mantle of 
peace V Listen, dear one ; hearest thou not the soft melody in 
the distance, that shall ere long lull thy weary spirit to rest? 
If thou canst not hear, cry with a loud voice : ' Peace, be still,' 
and then shall thine ears be opened, and thy spirit be thrilled with 
the melody of heaven. Now the wild tumult of earth is bearing 
discord to the portals of the sacred temple of the soul. Arise ! 
get thee hence ; tarry not in all the plain of unbelief, for thy 
God will redeem thee through the power of his angels. And 
those are the loved ones thou hast known on earth." 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 165 

A spirit giving the name of " Eulalia," speaks to 
those present at one of these evening circles, inform- 
ing a member as to the reason of her delay in coming. 
Her message urges the friend to " cheer up," and 
thus refers to the exceeding difficulty in the path of 
a spirit seeking to return, when doubt and sorrow 
are brooding like clouds over the individual members 
of the seance : 

"My friend: — May I not call you my friend? I have 
for three days sought to speak with you, but in vain. Tour 
own dark and unhappy state formed an impassible gulf Why 
is it that you linger at the tomb of despair ? 'Tis true that roses 
may bloom there, but the thorns are far too numerous, — there- 
fore tread lightly, and gaze steadily beyond the tomb of the 
present to the resurrecting star of the future." 

A spirit mother, under date of Oct. 15th, 1859, 
thus addresses her sons left behind. The advice 
herein contained, and the spirit of trust and resigna- 
tion it breathes, constitute a solid paragraph in the 
caveat filed by Spiritualism in the courts of reason 
and justice against the charge of the demoniac origin 
of it and its concomitants : 

"My ewn dear little boys: — "What news shall I bring you 
from the spirit land ? What fresh blossoms of love to stimulate 
you to duty ? Shall I tell you that you still are very dear to 
me, and that I am just as anxious for your welfare as I was when 
I was with you in mortal ? that I come to see you every day ; am 
grieved when I see you doing wrong, and am very happy when I 
see you doing right ? No ! I need not tell you so, for I think 
your knowledge of spiritual things will teach you this, and much 
more. I have sometimes half wished you were with me when I 
have been rapt in wonder and joy as I have gazed at scenes of 
beauty in my new home ; for all is very beautiful here to those 
who feel that they have tried to do right on earth. Remember 
this, my dears, and govern yourselves accordingly. I have pic- 



166 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

tures of you both in the place I call home ; and when you are 
happy the pictures look very clear and beautiful, but when you 
are not happy, or have done anything you feel to be in any sense 
wrong, then I can scarcely discern the pictures, they are so over- 
shadowed with a thick material atmosphere which they have gath- 
ered from your state or condition in earth life. So, my darlings, 
try, oh, try to do the best you can, and I, as well as yourselves, 
will be far happier than we could if you failed to live in accord- 
ance with the teachings of that ever-present monitor which the 
Good Father has given to guide you to peace and true happi- 
ness. That monitor is your own conscience. Obey it, and you 
cannot fail to be happy. It is my wish that you be kind to all 
you deal with — obedient to your teachers — neat concerning 
your persons — considerate and loving to your dear father — 
and, above all, ever ambitious to do right, that you may gain not 
only the approbation of mortals, but what is better, and far more 
enduring, the sunshine of approval from the dwellers in high 
spirit life. Remember, my dear little ones, that you are never, 
never alone ; and although you cannot see us, we have eyes that 
can see you, ears that can hear, and senses that can understand 
all that you do. Oh, let me often be greeted with some loving 
thought from the dear little boys I have left on earth. I shall 
prize every one as a gem of remembrance from those I so dearly 
love; and although I may sometimes go far from earth, yet 
every thought of me from those I love will be as sure to reach 
me as the sun will be to rise, and bless you each morning." 

II. 

In 1861 we find the Doctor recording scenes and in- 
cidents experienced at these private gatherings, which 
were the logical accompaniments of the great civil 
struggle then going on in the United States. Spirits 
from both armies who had passed from their bodies 
amid the roar of battle, and who could hardly realize 
the change which they had undergone — and others, 
who in the faint air of the crowded hospital had 
yielded up their lives in a deadly, hopeless stupor, 
and had not yet been aroused to a consciousness that 
for them the trials and pains of earth were over, 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 167 

crowded to this avenue of communion — some led 
thither by friends, others drifting upon the wave of 
apparent chance — apparent, because the mind which 
weighs its experiences is fain to deny that there is 
in the universe such a thing as absolute chance. 

Let us in the following recital raise the" curtain for 
a moment, and enter with the power of imagination 
as far as may be into the feelings of one who vividly 
portrays his state : 

" On the evening of November 23d, 1861, Mrs. Conant was 
entranced, and spoke as follows : 

'It's all up with me.' 

After a short pause I [Dr. Pike] asked : ' What do you mean ? ' 

' What do I mean ! Why, it 's all up with me. I shall never 
get over this. I shall never get well. Where 's Joe ? ' 

' Joe who ? ' I asked. 

' Why, Joe, my brother.' 

' He is not here,' I replied. 

■ How came you here ? Who got you to sit up with me ? ' 
he demanded. 

' No one,' I answered, ' I happened here accidentally.' 

' Who are you, any way ? ' 

To this query I avoided a direct answer, when he continued : 
' Where 's that man that brings the porridge to us ? Where 's 
Hollin?' 

' What Hollin ? ' inquired I. 

' Why, the Doctor. ' 

I replied : ' It is sometime since he saw you.' 

By these interrogations I perceived that the controlling spirit 
was in the dark — ignorant of his true condition — and therefore 
sought to enlighten him. As the first step I asked : 

• Where are you ? ' 

' Why, here in hospital. ' 

' What hospital ? ' 

' Why, the hospital at Washington. I knew this dysentery 
would kill me. I ain't afraid to die. I 'm sorry Joe left me; I 
had a good many things I wanted to say to him. Well ! it 's 
too late now. I do n't care about Hollin. I shan't take any 



168 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

more of his medicine. It has done me no good. I'm easy 
now, only very weak. I ain't afraid to die.' 

I then told him that he had already passed through the change 
called death ; that his spirit had left his body, and that he was 
in the spirit land, though unconscious of the fact. He was not 
convinced, however, declaring : 

'No ! this is my body. Ain't you holding me up ? ' 

'Yes, I am holding you up,' I replied, 'but you have only 
temporary possession of a borrowed body. Had you ever heard 
anything concerning mediums and Spiritualism ? ' 

' Yes, but then I don't believe anything of it.' 

I then went on to explain the matter to him : that he was more 
or less wandering in his mind during the last hours of his life, 
and that he had passed away in an unconscious state. ■ This fact 
of ' wandering ' he acknowledged. I then assured him that he 
had probably been brought into the presence of the medium by 
some relative or friend of his in the spirit land, who was anxious 
to awaken him to a consciousness of his condition. I inquired : 

' Did you have a father, a mother, brother, or sister in spirit 
life?' 

' Yes, ' he replied, ' a mother. If she had lived, I should n't 
have been here.' 

'Well,' I remarked, 'your kind mother watched over you in 
your sickness, and received your spirit on its entrance into its 
new home. She has brought you here to restore you to con- 
sciousness. When you leave this place, you will see her and 
recognize her, and then fully understand your true condition.' 
He gave me the name of Holbrook, of Oakland, 111., and said 
his mother was a Massachusetts woman, who went west from 
Duxbury. He was very desirous of satisfying himself of his own 
identity, and thought he could if he could place his hand on his 
head. I assisted him, when perceiving the: truth of what I said, 
the death scene was re-enacted, and he passed from control." 

In a few moments, Mrs. Conant was restored to a 
normal state ; but suffered severely from the influence 
left upon her by the spirit just departing. In order 
to alleviate her condition the Doctor placed her 
under mesmeric influence, and while in this state 
she saw the young man who had just controlled, 



MBS. J. H. COKANT. 169 

standing beside his mother — her arms about his 
neck — then a sister came and embraced him. In 
reply to the queries of the Doctor, the young man 
stated that all which he (Pike) had told him was 
true. The mother also said that she had brought 
her son into the presence of the medium that he 
might be born aright into the spirit world — i. e., 
into a full consciousness of what he was about to 
undergo and enter upon. 

As an additional example- of the process by which 
the understanding of the bewildered spirit is quick- 
ened, and its mental vision cleared by coming into 
control of an earthly medium — from the standpoint 
of whose material life it seems, on yielding possession 
to take a new departure, more fully comprehending 
its changed condition, and the new duties devolving 
upon it — extracts from the next entry, under date 
of November 30th, 1861, are made. On the evening 
of that day, the Doctor being at the rooms of Mrs. 
Conant, perceived, after a spirit who had before man- 
ifested through her had retired, that another, evi- 
dently unaquainted with the method of control, was 
endeavoring to influence her. At last the medium, 
who was sitting upon a lounge near him, arose — 
being fully entranced — and coming to the centre 
of the apartment, said to the astonished physician, 
in accents of the deepest anguish : 

" They told me you were merciful, and would give 
me back my child ! " 

The Doctor replied that he did not understand, 
but that if the influence would inform him of the cir- 
cumstances of the case, he might be able to be of some 



170 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

service. Upon hearing this, the spirit controlling 
exclaimed : 

" They stole my child, and when I knew I could 
not regain possession of it, I took my life. Oh, my 
child, my child ! They told me to come to you — 
that you would have mercy, and give me back my 
child ! " 

In reply to his queries, Dr. P. learned that in earth 
life the influence — whom the reader has by this time 
surmised was a woman — resided in New York ; that 
three years had elapsed since the abduction of the 
child and the suicide of the mother ; that the father 
of the child had stolen it, and that it was somewhere 
in spirit life, although the mother had not yet seen it. 

"At this point [so runs the narrative] I [Dr. P.] 
comprehended the whole matter, and said to her : 

' Yes ; I will give you back your child.' 

' Oh, God bless you ! when — when ? will it be 
years and years first ? ' she exclaimed. 

i No,' I replied, ' it may be but a short time, per- 
haps only a few moments. My past experience jus- 
tifies me in assuring you that when you give up 
control, and return to your spirit home, you will 
meet your child, if not before. It was necessary 
that you should come back to earth, throw off a por- 
tion of your own materiality, and receive that pecu- 
liar magnetism by which you would be enabled to 
come en rapport with your child ; and some relative 
or friend in the spirit land has brought you here for 
this purpose.' " 

The truth of this hypothesis was proven in her case, 
as just before giving up control of the organism of 
Mrs. Conant, the spirit raised her head, and with 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 171 

clasped hands, and a countenance radiant with joy, 
exclaimed : " My child — my darling ! " The medium 
in a few moments beheld in vision the reunion of the 
mother and her cherished offspring in spirit life. At 
the request of the Doctor she furnished the name she 
bore while on earth, which out of respect to parties now 
living, is not here inserted. Some beautiful floral of- 
ferings whose color language was: "Wisdom and pu- 
rity," were also seen at this time by Mrs. C. ; they 
took the form of letters which after a little space she 
was able to read, and which proclaimed a blessing on 
any who should give " unto one of these little ones a 
cup of cold water" even ; another wreath interblended 
with the larger one, was seen, the inscription upon 
which read : " Blessed are the pure in heart, for they 
see God even in the prostitute." 

Other messages and circumstances given or occur- 
ring in 1861* are recorded, among which was a strong 
instance of the power of vitativeness in the mind of 
the individual manifesting. A spirit giving the name 
of Sylvanus Thompson, of St. Louis, controlled Mrs. 
Con ant, May 26 th, stating that he was killed in a 
mob at that city about two weeks previous, and was 
exceedingly anxious to regain possession of his phys- 
ical body. A material love of life seemed to be at 
work strongly within him, and it appeared almost im- 
possible to convince him that he could not be restored 
in some manner to his former physical casket. He 
stated that he was well provided with this world's 
goods while here, and that he would make any settle- 
ment desired on the Doctor, or any one who would 
bring him again in possession of the tenement from 
which he had been so suddenly ejected. This strange 



172 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

dialogue continued between the two, till Capt. Gibbs 
(a spirit friend before referred to in these pages) see- 
ing that Mrs. Conant was suffering under the intense 
excitement of the foreign control, dispossessed him 
of his hold, and warned those present to guard her in 
future as much as possible from this influence, or 
any intelligence of the same class, as trouble for the 
medium would certainly follow in their train were 
they allowed to gain a lodgment. 

III. 

By the provisions of the law of spirit control, the 
invisible intelligence, on first visiting a medium after 
return from- decease, seems to bring with it a spirit- 
ual reflex of the conditions, scenes, and circumstances 
surrounding its former exit from materiality. This 
experience, however, is not repeated to an equal 
extent on a second visit to the same, or another in- 
strument of communication, but the effort to control 
is made more easily, the hold on the medium is loosed 
with more understanding, and the former perturba- 
tion in the conditions is no longer perceivable. As 
an illustration of this unfailing law, the case of a 
spirit manifesting on the evening of May 14th, 1861, 
is given. According to the record at that time, Mrs. 
Conant was suddenly entranced by a spirit who ex- 
hibited symptoms of hydrophobia, the medium foam- 
ing at the mouth and snapping at those present. 
Whenever her physician attempted to touch her face 
or throat, these signs Avere repeated with considerable 
violence. The Doctor was at first in doubt as to 
whether these manifestations were the result of a 
foreign influence, or were caused by some physical 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 173 

derangement existing in the medium ;' but upon put- 
ting the question : " Is some spirit in control ? " 
he saw an evident attempt at a reply — the intelli- 
gence, however, being unable to use the organs of 
speech. After a time, the control becoming more 
perfect, an affirmative answer was rendered, with 
the ejaculations made in a manner that indicated 
much suffering : 

" Oh, had I known how hard it was, I never would 
have attempted it. I want to get away. Let raego!" 

Other expressions of a similar nature being given 
vent to, Dr. P., asked the intelligence concerning its 
identity, name, condition, etc., and if he, the Doc- 
tor, could be of service in any way. No reply was 
received, however. From the moment he became 
satisfied that the manifestations taking place before 
him were the result of spirit control, the Doctor was 
impressed with regard to the character of the case, 
and as to who the party was. With a view to ascer- 
taining the correctness of his impression he put the 
question : 

" How long have you been in the spirit land? " to 
which the influence replied : " Only a few months." 

" Did you not live at South End, on Shawmut 
Avenue or near by, and die of hydrophobia?" To 
this the spirit promptly replied that both suppositions 
were correct ; he also repeated his request that the 
Doctor would assist him in getting free from the 
medium, which being acceded to, by the exercise of 
mesmeric power on the part of the physician, the 
control was broken, and Mrs. Conant returned to 
consciousness ; she complained immediately of an un- 
pleasant feeling about the region of the throat, and 



174 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

said that her face felt as if it were " all drawn up." 
A few minutes later she attempted to drink a prep- 
aration from a glass on the mantle, but was seized 
with a spasm as soon as the effort was made, and cried 
out : " What a pain in the back of my neck ! " An- 
other attempt, made some five minutes later, met 
with no better success — the spasm being even more 
severe than before. She was then thrown into a 
magnetic state by Dr. P., from- which in some ten 
minutes she awoke without further unpleasant effects 
from the conditions left upon 'her by her strange 
visitant. 

It not infrequently occurs that spirits coming near a 
medium out of sympathy for the intelligence influ- 
encing him or her, become suddenly drawn into control 
upon the yielding up of the first one, and are obliged 
to manifest — if only for a brief moment — in order to 
disengage themselves. An incident of this kind — 
not, however, in chronological order — is found in a 
message from Hon. Anson BurlirTgame, received at 
the rooms of Mrs. Conant on Tuesday evening, Aug. 
22d, 1871, by a company composed of Luther Colby, 
Mr. and Mrs. L. B. Wilson, and Dr. Pike. Here, 
after the departure of a spirit whose birth-land was 
in the far East "where the sun comes from," (and 
to whom Mr. B. was strongly attracted on account 
of his official position while in life) the former chief 
plenipotentiary for China made his appearance through 
the medium, stating that it was not his intention to 
manifest on coming there, but that being intense- 
ly desirous of examining into the modus operandi 
of the law of control as regarded the experience of 
others, he found himself, ere he was aware, in posses- 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 175 

sion. He did not understand why it occurred ; but 
the matter was explained to him by the party — from 
previous information given by other returning spirits 
— that his great interest in the mode of influencing 
the medium brought him unconsciously within her 
magnetic sphere, and he became, so to speak, ab- 
sorbed into her organism. 

Spirits who trod the gloomy, fear-haunted road of 
suicide, have left the traces of their return on the 
pages of this record. Wrapped in a mantle of doubt 
as to themselves and all around them, they have 
stumbled on, till through the humble door of modern 
mediumship they have beheld the first faint gleam 
betokening that new dawn of hope which a God of 
eternal progression gives to each child of his, how- 
ever great his or her mistakes in life may have been : 

On the evening of January 3d, 1862, Mrs. Conant 
began to exhibit extraordinary symptoms which were 
at first thought by her physician to be the result of a 
neuralgic affection from which she had been suffering 
all day, but it finally transpired that they were the 
efforts of a returning spirit to manifest. Several 
spasms occurred-— each becoming more severe than 
the preceding — and at length the Doctor fearing that 
so violent a control would result in harm to the me- 
dium, determined to dispossess the influence by tak- 
ing possession himself — in other words by mesmeri- 
zing her. Upon placing his hand upon her head for 
this purpose, she was instantly restored to conscious- 
ness, with eyes open and power to speak, but under 
the full and perfect control of a spirit who, before 
yielding possession, stated that her name on earth 



176 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

was Lucy Pendleton, of Auburn, N. Y. The spirit's 
first inquiry was : 

" How long did I sleep ? " 

At this time the Doctor was not fully aware of the 
presence of the spirit, but supposing that Mrs. C. had 
addressed this question to him, answered : " About 
ten minutes." 

" Ten minutes! " replied the influence, with signs 
of impatience, " do you think I 'm a fool ? " 

"No," he replied, " but we evidently do not un- 
derstand each other." 

"Just my luck! Oh dear! dear! How disappointed 
I am. I thought I was going to die, but here I am," 
murmured the spirit, almost weeping. 

" Tell me something about yourself; perhaps I can 
give you some light in regard to your condition, for 
you seem at present to be in the dark concerning it," 
said Dr. P., "I think I can .aid you if you will talk 
with me." 

"Who did they call in? What day is it?" de- 
manded the influence. 

"Friday." . ; 

" What date in the month ? " 

" The third of January, 1862." 

" There ! I knew I had slept more than ten minutes." 

The Doctor then asked: "What is the last date 
you recollect? " 

" The second of September — I dated all my letters 
on that day." 

" What did you do then ? " 

" Took laudanum to kill myself; but 'tis just my 
luck — I either took too much or not enough," said 
the spirit. 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 177 

The state of the case now appearing to the com- 
pany, her true condition was explained to her ; she 
was informed that she had succeeded in taking her 
own life and had passed into the spirit world ; that 
she had remained in an unconscious state up to the 
present time ; that she had probably been brought 
into magnetic relations with Mrs. Conant — as many 
others had previously been — by some friends in the 
other life, for the purpose of obtaining a clearer view 
of her position. The influence replied : 

" I do n't know how I came here. No one brought 
me here. I saw no one." 

" Have you any friends or relatives in the spirit 
land who were dear to you here ? " 

This* question being answered in the affirmative, 
she was again informed that some spirit friend must 
have brought her there for purposes of good to her ; 
but she stoutly maintained that she had not seen any 
of her friends in the land of souls ; the only point 
analogous to it in her mind was that she had dreamed 
that she saw her father and mother, and that they 
told her,- she must go back to earth and stop awhile. 
She was still incredulous with regard to what was 
told her about her possessing temporarily the body 
of another till a mirror was brought her, when she 
exclaimed : 

" Oh yes ; I see you are right. This is not my 
body. My hair was light and short ; this is black 
and. long. How long must I stay here ? " 

"You can go when you please,-' replied Dr. P. ; 
" I will aid you when you desire to go." 

" Oh, dear ! I dread to go ! How strange ! I did 
not fear when I killed myself, but now I do." 



178 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

Before her departure, in reply to the Doctor's 
query of what she did as to occupation while On 
earth, she said : 

" "What did I do ? I tried to live — I did as other 
folks do — not any worse, I don't think." 

Two touching narratives of suicides are appended 
in this connection as instances of the graphic power 
of these messages, coming as they do from the depths 
of the heart of those giving them. On the evening 
of February 26th, 1863, Mrs. Conant, after being in- 
fluenced by several spirits, passed finally under the 
control of one who spoke as follows : 

" My name was Eliza Craft, of London, Eng. My father was 
a physician. My mother died about three years previous to my 
decease. My father was almost frantic at her death. I com- 
mitted suicide by taking prussic acid and alcohol. I had some 
little knowledge of medicine, and knew well what to take to pass 
out quickly. I did not suffer. The cause for this dreadful act 
was seduction and abandonment by my father's student. But 
oh, he is wretched — cursed — doubly cursed ! My own situation 
is more tolerable than his. 

I was about nineteen years of age when I died. My father 
was in the habit of keeping open house during the holidays. 
Everything was in readiness for our friends and guests ; but when 
they came, it was to attend my funeral. Their joy was turned 
into mourning. When my father came into his office and found 
me dead, I stood there [in spirit] and knew his agony. Oh my 
G-od ! what would I not have given to have returned ! " 

For some moments the influence appeared greatly 
distressed by this glance in retrospect at her past his- 
tory, after which she proceeded to say that sometime 
subsequent to her transition, her father found por- 
tions of her writings from which he inferred the cause 
of her death, but took no legal steps with regard to 
the young man. He simply told him to go from his 
presence — he wished never to see him again. 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 179 

On Wednesday, P. M., April 27th, 1864, Mrs. 
Conant was entranced. The spirit seemed but little 
inclined to converse, but after awhile, gave the name 
of Edith Elkins, and said she had been in the spirit 
land about six weeks. Becoming at last more com- 
municative, she spoke as follows : 

"My parents reside in Alton, 111. * My father is a lawyer. 
Three years ago I was at school in Cleveland, 0. I knew noth- 
ing, then, of care or sorrow. The typhus and typhoid fever ap- 
peared among the pupils ; many were prostrated, and, after long 
suffering, died. I was among the number who were taken down 
with the disease, but was spared — Oh God ! why was it ? — 
only to be disgraced and overwhelmed with sorrow. I was se- 
duced by my physician. I was happy for a year or two, believ- 
ing that he loved me, and was true to me. One morning, when I 
awoke, his marriage to another was announced to me. The 
shock was terrible ! I could live no longer. It seems now that 
an unseen power — fate perhaps — ruled the events of my life. 
A short time before this, I had jokingly requested to be allowed to 
keep with me a small phial of medicine, (poison) remarking that 
perhaps I might desire to take it ; but the thought of ever doing 
so never at that time entered my mind. From this phial I took 
the fatal dose I have been told that he was at my bedside while 
I was dying, and that his agony was terrible. I am also told 
that he lies very sick at Cleveland — not expected to recover. 
[He was afterward clairvoyantly seen by the medium — June 
22d, 1864 — in a dying condition.] 

The news of my deaths by violence, quite overwhelmed my 
parents. My father, a few days after, was stricken down with 
paralysis. My mother is sustained by her Christian faith." 

IV. 

The pages of the record bear many other interesting 
accounts which are not here inserted. According to 
the narrative, at these private sittings wonderful spirit 
manifestations of an intellectual type have been given, 
by all classes of disembodied ones, from the cultured 
Zandes, who claims to have existed on earth 7000 



180 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

years ago — and Jacho Reida Yan Can, an intel- 
ligent merchant of Calcutta — to " Oriole," a gypsy 
from the Isle of Wight, and " Big Buffalo," from -the 
prairies of the West : Here " Shining Water," an 
Indian maiden, bringing news of a great council of 
war being held at the moment of her manifesting 
by many chiefs and braves in " the land where the 
sun sleeps," longs to " visit and' whisper peace to 
them, and tell them the Great Spirit loves peace 
rather than war:" Here Maximillian, breathing 
that air of spiritual progress which is free to the 
humblest peon as well as to the lordliest king speaks 
with newly opened vision — "Mortals contend for 
bubbles here, which break upon the shores of eternity 
and are gone. The night of death and the morning 
of a more perfect day are so near that we can see no 
space between them. I died as a soldier dies : " 
Here the wise of other clays reveal the fact that 
the word "sin," when traced through the ages to its 
source or root in the primitive languages of men, sig- 
nifies " unripeness : " Here those who have defrauded 
their kind on earth, bear witness that by the action 
of the eternal law of Infinite Retribution the conse- 
quences of their deeds followed them to the land of 
' souls, unstayed in their effects by a belief in the 
atoning blood of any person, human "or divine : Here 
such asseverate that it is necessary for their deliver- 
ance from the results of past misdeeds, for them to 
return to earth, confess the wrong, and make what 
reparation they may, upon the execution of which 
penance, their load of guilt — like the pack of "Chris- 
tian" — falls away, and leaves them free to the pur- 
suit of higher attainments : Here those who have 



MUS. J. H. CONANT. 181 

gone down into the deep, deep sea, have returned — 
the captain yet wrapped in that hardy defiance of the 
elements which was his pride, shouting out involun- 
tarily the last orders he gave on earth ; the wife who 
sank with him amid the swirling wreck, happy to be 
even in that supreme hour by her husband's side ; the 
humble man of the forecastle, breathing an uncouth- 
ly-worded regret that his mother, or wife, or sweet- 
heart it may be, " will feel desperate bad " when she 
learns he is dead : Here the miser, " a j)Oor miser- 
able looking fellow, all shriveled and dried up," 
shows his true character in the land beyond, going 
about begging and holding out his hand even to him 
who was a pauper in earth-life but who is now richer 
than he — every spirit in his path shrinking from 
him in disgust. Here the spirit of Mrs. Juclson, the 
celebrated missionar}^, on beholding a beautiful bou- 
quet, the gift of a friend, upon a stand near her while 
controlling the medium, proclaims : 

These floral gems in kindness given — 
They speak to me of yonder heaven ! 
For in their perfumed hearts I see 
Keflected, much of Deity. 

Some say that Allah dwells apart 
From Nature and the human heart ; 
But Nature claims her right to be 
The dwelling place of Deity. 

Then let us worship at the shrine 
Of Nature, in her courts divine ! 
Nor Allah seek, nor Christian's God, 
To aid our steps along the road ! 



182 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

Y. 

The Indian influences briefly referred to in the 
preceding part, are here spoken of to a greater length : 



This lively and intelligent influence came to Mrs. 
Conant in the early days of her mediumship, imper- 
sonating a child in whom acquisitiveness and curios- 
ity were largely developed — a peculiar characteristic 
of her control being, her request for small articles of 
finery, etc., in possession of those present, which 
pleased her fancy. On the medium's expostulating 
with the influence, on obtaining consciousness, that 
such conduct was unbecoming, she finally abandoned 
the practice, but revenged herself upon Mrs. C. by 
entrancing her suddenly on one or two occasions and 
causing her to make a rapid flight through the crowded 
streets of the city till overtaken and brought back by 
friends. 

In time this Indian maiden assumed the position of 
attendant spirit to the medium, being ever ready at 
call to assist her as a messenger — bringing to the 
circles any spirit whose presence was required there- 
in, and on several occasions at the public seances 
held by her at Mrs. Cate's, lifting chairs for the ac- 
commodation of the guests, or raising or closing the 
windows. This was done in the light, much to the 
mystification of skeptics present, who could not deny 
that the^ articles were moved, though the act could be 
ascribed to no visible agent. 

This influence gave Mrs. Conant a sketch of her 
earth life, in which she stated that she was of the 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 183 

Sioux tribe — that she committed suicide, and that 
she was known among the Indians by a name which 
signifies: " The-one-who-shows-herself," as she was 
frequently seen, in spirit, near the spot where she met 
her death. After awhile " Spring-Flower " gave no- 
tice that she should soon cease to be a regular atten- 
dant upon Mrs. Conant — having other duties to dis- 
charge, and astonished the medium by informing her 
that she would bring her a little Indian girl from the 
Plains to take her place. In reply to Mrs. C.'s query 
as to whether the child would be a spirit out of, or 
one in the form, she was assured that it was to be one 
yet in physical life. This Mrs. Conant considered as 
simply impossible, and gave the subject no further 
thought, but was exceedingly surprised, on Colonel 
Tappan's arrival in Boston from another visit to the 
far West to find that' he had brought back with him 
a little Indian child whom he found in one of the 
mission schools, and whose parents and friends per- 
ished in the Sand Creek (or Chivington) massacre. 
He proceeded to introduce his charge to the inmates 
of the house — Mrs. Conant among them — and, at 
once, "Spring-Flower" controlled, declaring to those 
around her that her promise was fulfilled — that she 
had brought the medium an Indian girl in her place, 
and she must keep her. 

"What can i" do with her?" asked Mrs. C, on com- 
ing out of the trance, and being told what " Spring- 
Flower" had said. The Colonel, nevertheless, de- 
cided, through the invitation of the lady of the house, 
to leave the girl — who was then supposed to be 
about ten years of age — with her, at least till other 
quarters could be obtained, and the aboriginal waif 



184 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

took up her residence under the tutelary care of the 
medium. 

"Spring-Flower" did not immediately abandon 
the presence of Mrs. Conant upon the arrival of her 
" substitute," but shortly after, her visits became less 
frequent, and she now manifests only at intervals 
through her organism. On one occasion Colonel 
Tappan being desirous of testing the truth of her as- 
sertions concerning her people, and Indian matters 
generally, brought a collection of arrows which he 
had ' obtained while in the West — he knowing the 
particular bands by whom they were used; these 
upon being subjected to the medium's examination 
while entranced by "Spring-Flower" were correctly 
assorted, and each tribe named, by the workmanship 
or peculiar marks descried thereon by the keen-eyed 
child of nature. 

"Minnehaha,". — (which was the name given to 
the little Indian child, at the school from which she 
was taken by Colonel Tappan) — was straight as an 
arrow, and well developed as to form ; after a few ex- 
periments, she also demonstrated that she was pos- 
sessed of a tractable mind. She made rapid progress 
in her studies, and at her earnest request a music 
teacher was engaged to instruct her in the* mysteries 
of the piano forte, in the use of which instrument 
she, in time, became quite proficient. The experi- 
ence of Mrs. Conant with regard to her, proved the 
utter fallacy — to her mind ■ — of the idea that civiliza- 
tion and education are impossible of attainment by 
the Indian. The child exhibited a willingness to 
obey all directions given her, seeming to have the 
most implicit confidence that Mrs. C. knew best, and 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 185 

would not demand aught of her, which it was wrong 
for her to perform ; she faithfully kept her promises, 
and showed a determination to speak the truth under 
all circumstances, which it would be well to have 
more fully copied among the scions of the favored 
white race. She was, at first, given to wild freaks 
— the most remarkable of which, was leaping into 
the water with all her clothing upon her, and swim- 
ming with the greatest ease, though to the destruc- 
tion of the various dresses with which she was sup- 
plied by Colonel Tappan — and when reproved or 
corrected, she bore all without complaint (though the 
sullenness peculiar to her people would at such times 
manifest itself;) she finally became deterred from 
such exhibitions of untamed nature, and was led to 
assume in a full degree the manners of civilized life. 

This child was found to be a medium, or at least to 
be possessed of clairvoyant powers, which fact was 
discovered in the following manner : She on several 
occasions desired that she might be allowed to remain 
and go " up stairs " to bed when the older ones did, 
and showed great trouble of mind on being refused ; 
at last she was questioned upon the matter, and re- 
plied that an Indian always sat at the foot of her bed 
when she went up alone, and looked at her so that 
she was frightened. 

" Do you know him ? " asked Mrs. C. 

" Yes ; and I should be glad to see him if he wasn't 
dead" murmured the child. 

"Who is he?" 

" Omwah — my father." 

The medium at once endeavored to explain to her 
that the act of death was nothing more to her inner 



186 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

and real self than the putting off of the garments 
with which civilized life had clothed her limbs — that 
she ought to be glad to see her father under any 
circumstances — that he came to her because of 
his love for her, and could not possibly be productive 
of harm. 

The time of " Minnehaha's" stay with Mrs. Conant 
by reason of its pleasantness, gradually lengthened till 
nearly eighteen months passed away, when the little 
one was removed by reason of the Colonel's marriage. 

The following account of the tuition of an unedu- 
cated spirit may prove of interest to the student 
of the occult in mental development : 

" NE-OS-CO-LE-T A. " 

' ' This beautiful aud affectionate spirit came to me [Dr. Pike] 
for the first time about ten years ago, personifying in her control 
[through Mrs. Conant] one perishing from hunger and cold. 
The lady medium was sitting at the time upon a hassock in the 
middle of the room. Just at the moment of her being entranced 
by the spirit, her husband came into the apartment, having on 
his dressing gown and slippers, the bright colors of which 
seemed at once to attract the attention of the spirit. Shivering 
with cold, and famished with hunger, she gave him an imploring 
look, which I can never forget, and which seemed to say : 
' I have no blanket — no food ; will the white man give ? ' 
He at once took off his gown and placed it upon her shoulders 
— his slippers, and put them upon her feet. Some hard biscuit 
which were in a closet near by, were brought and given to her. 
She devoured them as only one starving could. Seemingly sat- 
isfied, she soon yielded control, and was followed by another, an 
Indian maiden, who is known to us as 'Spring-Flower,' and 
who is in the habit of controlling the medium occasionally. 
She told me that she brought the little pappoose who had 
just gone ; that she perished on the Plains, and was covered be- 
neath the snow ; that her people were driven from their lodge by 
the pale-faces, and having no food, and being unable to continue 
the flight, this little one faltered and perished. The name she 
now bears: ' Woo-ne-a-noo-ket,' was given her by those who 



MRS. J. H. C03TANT. 187 

received her into spirit life, and signifies in English : ' She-that- 
was-under-the-snow ; ' the name she bore in her earth life was 
' Ne-os-co-le-ta, ' which denotes ' Prairie Flower. ' By this name 
we now call her most frequently. In the course of a few days 
she came again, and manifested much gratitude for the kind- 
ness shown her at her first coming. After this her calls were 
frequent, and I soon discovered that she possessed a very confid- 
ing and loving nature. Up to this time she could only commu- 
nicate with me by signs. I began teaching her to make her 
wishes known in English, by speaking the names of various things 
in the room, and making her repeat them after me several times, 
until she could pronounce them distinctly. The lady medium 
having a ring upon her finger, and the attention of the spirit child 
being attracted to it, I spoke the word 'ring,' and asked her to 
repeat it after me ; this she did, very imperfectly at first, but after 
three or four attempts, she ennunciated it very clearly and dis- 
tinctly. I then spoke each letter separately: 'r-i-n-g,' and 
asked her to repeat them after me, which she did. I went on, 
giving her other names — as 'hand,' 'arm,' 'head,' 'hair,' 
'ear,' 'eye,' etc., she learning the words and their orthography 
correctly. 

I then asked her if she would like to learn the ' pale-face ' 
books ? She seemed perfectly delighted with the idea, and sig- 
nified that she would. I told I would get such a book as was 
suitable for her, and bring it the next time I called on the lady. 
I bought a primer and took it with me at my next call. The 
little one controlled, remaining in possession of the medium for 
less than one hour, during which time she mastered every letter 
of the alphabet in capitals, and could call them rightly wherever 
she saw them. At our next meeting she learned to spell some 
words of one syllable, and to designate the letters of the alpha- 
bet which formed the word. She also learned the small 
letters of the alphabet. Soon she was able to read short sen- 
tences. I next taught her the characters used in writing — all 
of which letters, both large and small she mastered in one even- 
ing. She had now a good foundation laid. At all our subse- 
quent meetings, when the medium was well, and the spirit could 
control, some progress was made, either in reading or writing, and 
frequently in both." 

The following letter written by the hand of Mrs. 
Conant while she was entranced by his little pupil, 



188 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

was received by the Doctor, as a mark of the grati- 
tude of " Prairie Flower: " 

' ' My Dear Dr. Pike : — Me love you much, so me write you 
to thank you for your kind heart towards the Indian child. You 
give her the thoughts which the Great Father has given you in 
books, and she will weave them into a chaplet with which to 
crown you in your spirit home. Me will try to be good, and 
do all you tell me. Me will try not to forget. Me will try to get 
many stars, so when me come to show you the way when the 
Great Father calls, it will not be dark. Me will love you much, 
and will ask the water and the flowers, the sunlight and the star- 
light to take my prayers to the Great Father for you. Me be 

WoOXEANOOKET." 

"VOOSH-TI." 

This influence — an Indian child, aged about seven 
years in earth life — first controlled Mrs. Conant in 
1870, as she was slowly recovering from the depress- 
ing effects of a serious illness. Her name while em- 
bodied in the physical was " Voosh-ti" — meaning 
" The Captive," but it being comparatively difficult 
of pronunciation by white lips, it was gradually 
changed by those attending the private seances to 
" Vashti," by which she is now known. Totally 
ignorant of reading, writing, and other branches 
of education so common to civilized life — as was 
"Ne-os-co-le-ta"at her first manifestation — "Vashti" 
has been, and is now, under process of education, 
with good results. 

On coming she represented herself to be one of the 
Piegan tribe, and reported that she perished at the In- 
dian massacre by the troops of Gen. Sheridan, which 
occurred on the Yellow Stone River in December, 
1869. Her father, " Big Buffalo," one of the under 
chiefs of the tribe, was killed at the same time. Subse- 



MES. J. H. CONANT. 189 

quently the following information regarding her was 
obtained: A woman from the State of Illinois, who, 
with a party of emigrants, was crossing the plains to 
California, became a captive to the Indians. Two men 
— "Big Buffalo" and one of his warriors — desired 

o 

her for a wife. Lots were cast, and she fell to the 
possession of the chief. His Indian wife, full of jeal- 
ousy and anger, strove in all safe ways to exhibit her 
hatred of the new comer. In time the said Indian 
squaw was delivered of a child, but it was so strange- 
ly marked that • she hated it from its birth. A 
person understanding the great effect of pre-natal 
influences upon a child about to be born, will not 
be surprised to learn that this Indian pappoose par- 
took in a great measure of the nature of the white, 
wife — in consequence of the continued thought of 
its mother during the gestative period — and re- 
sembled a white child far more than an Indian. 
The squaw detested it heartily — named it " Voosh- 
ti " (the captive) in derision of her white rival, 
whom it resembled, and endeavored on several oc^ 
casions to kill it ; but the white Avife, having taken 
a fancy to the oppressed little one, defended it, 
in every instance. Up to the time of its violent^ 
death at the hands of the cavalry, the child was. 
noted as being remarkably intelligent, exceeding- 
ly active, and- easily taught — being a favorite with 
the soldiers and officers at the neighboring fort, who- 
often made her presents of food, or small articles, 
which attracted her attention. 

She frequently, at her first coming as a spirit, 
entranced the medium while she was at meals, and 
partook of the food set before her, which resulted in 



190 A BIOGBAPHY OF 

good to Mrs. C, by bringing nouriskment into her 
system when the appetite of the medium — had she 
been in a normal state — would have failed to tempt 
her to partake of any food. Since first control- 
ling the medium, she has continued to be a constant 
attendant on Mrs. C. — being almost a case of semi- 
reincarnation in her assiduous attention and close 
proximity to her earthly friend. Among Vashti's 
characteristics of manifestation is a passionate fond- 
ness for playing at cards ; while in possession of the 
medium's organism, she will participate in games re- 
quiring the keenest exercise of the mental powers, 
and with the rules of which the medium is totally 
unacquainted. 

Vashti has discharged faithfully many of the duties 
formerly devolving on " Spring-Flower," being often 
successfully despatched as a messenger for spirits 
whose presence was desired, and frequently warning 
the medium of approaching trouble. Among the 
many other instances which have occurred, proving 
the celerity of motion, deep affection, and quickness 
of judgment possessed by this spirit, the following 
leaves from Mrs. Cohant's experience while on her re- 
cent tour to Moravia are cited : While at this place, 
with a view of witnessing some of the remarkable man- 
ifestations occurring in presence of Mrs. Andrews, it 
was found — owing to the disturbed conditions inci- 
dent to the medium's having recently removed from 
the Keeler mansion to her new residence — that the 
usually satisfactory seances were interspersed with 
those which proved almost total failures — the one 
attended by Mrs. Con ant verging upon the latter 
character, as regarded the materialization of spirit 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 191 

forms, though the dark circle which preceded the 
"materializing: seance " was a success as far as brilliant 
spirit lights, spirit voices, etc., could make it. During 
this darkness Mrs. Conant requested a manifestation 
from " Vashti" — no one in the room save herself and 
traveling companions knowing whether said spirit 
was full grown or infantile. At once the cabinet 
door was heard to open, and the sound of little feet 
running across the floor was detected. In a moment 
more a form bounded into Mrs. C.'s lap ; it was that 
of a child, so tangible that she put her arms around 
it and felt it firmly grasped between them. The per- 
sons next to Mrs. Conant in the circle also satisfied 
themselves of the reality of the spirit's presence by 
pressing its small, soft hand. It climbed up, and 
placed its arms about Mrs. C.'s neck, kissing her 
affectionately, after which she felt the form dissolve 
and melt away. 

At the conclusion of her stay at Moravia, Mrs. 
Conant purposed to proceed at once to Niagara Falls, 
and commenced the journey, but finding her health 
failing, even to the verge of a dangerous sickness, she 
decided on leaving Syracuse, N. Y., where she had 
halted, and proceeding at once to Boston as soon as 
her physician, [Dr. Pike,] who had been summoned 
by telegraph, could arrive to accompany her. On 
the morning after his coming, it was found that if re- 
moved at all that day she must travel in the gentlest 
manner possible, and application was therefore made 
at the depot for a section in a palace car. Informa- 
tion was returned that the eastward train from Chi- 
cago generally had a car of that description attached, 
though it was by no means a matter of certainty — 



192 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

neither was there any surety, should said train (then 
nearly due) have such a car coupled with it, that a 
section could be secured, as it was almost always 
filled to repletion. In this dilemma, not wishing to 
make the journey from the hotel to the de'pdt in vain, 
Mrs. C. decided to send her little friend " Vashti " 
to discover whether such a car was with the coming 
train, and if so, whether any vacancy existed therein. 
The spirit departed upon her errand, and after the 
lapse of some twenty minutes returned, reporting that 
she had been " down the track " a long way — that a 
palace car was on the advancing train, and that one 
section of four seats was vacant — which fact she 
learned by looking upon the special conductor's check 
book. Mr. Berry immediately controlled Mrs. C, 
ordering the party to go to the depdt at once, and 
wait for the train, and directing her gentleman escort 
to leap upon the car before it was fairly stopped, see 
the conductor and secure the coveted seats ere some 
one preceded him in the race. This was done, as per 
programme — the seats were secured, and Mrs. Conant, 
led by " Vashti, ? ' went immediately to the proper 
section (" C ") — although she did not know which 
one (if any) had been secured — not having had an 
opportunity of communicating with her escort since 
he went on board the car. 



MBS. J. H. CONANT. 193 



The following poem was improvised at one of these 
private sittings through the lips of Mrs. Conant, by 
" Metoka," (a brief description of whose nativity is 
given in the preceding part) and addressed to Dr. 
Pike, in memory of his domestic bereavements ; in 
acknowledgment of his services in aiding in the res- 
toration to health of Mrs. C, after a severe illness ; 
as a promise of what she (Metoka) wonld do for him 
in reward, when he passed the river of change ; and 
as a prophecy of what he would accomplish for the 
race in mortal when himself disembodied : 

METOKA TO DR. PIKE. 

"Had the white man wearied of Metoka's coming? The 
upper hunting-ground is large, and Metoka has wandered many 
miles since last she met the white man. 

Kneel and kiss the Hand of Power, 

Though your human tear-drops flow, 
Know you not their sadd'ning shower 

Saved you from still darker woe ? 

Long the Indian maid has watched you 

On our spirit prairie's rim, 
As your lessening camp fires smouldered — 

One by one your lights grew dim. 

When the last, the best, the brightest, 

Drooped in misty shades forlorn, 
And her weary, wounded spirit 

Fled from earth like frightened fawn : * 

Then the Indian in her wigwam 
Knelt in deep, though voiceless prayer, 

Asking that the great Manito 
This one star-beam f still would spare. 

♦Referring to the decease of Abbie, the Doctor's second wife, spoken of in preced- 
ing pages. 

t Referring to a severe, and almost fatal illness which overtook Mrs. Conant, but 
which the skill of Dr. P. was a powerful agent in overcoming, so that she was 
restored to health. 



194 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

Through the life-tide of your being — 
Through its pulses full and warm, 

Came in earnest tones the answer, 
And the Indian's heart grew strong. 

Then there rose a song of gladness 
From the millfons robed in night, 

For the great All-Father spared them 
This, their trembling beacon light. 

Guard its radiance, feed it truly 
From the fountains of your life, 

And the angel world will bless you 
When you 're free from mortal strife : 

Then in land of spirit promise, 
In the wigwam of the blest ; 
Where the forest trees are greenest — 
Where no human foot hath pressed — 

There I'll meet thee in death's twilight, 
While the stars above us glisten 

And the moonbeams round us fall ; 
And the leaves all seem to listen 
To the great Manito's call! 



And from hence my hand shall guide thee 

Over broadening lake and stream, 
Over plain and towering mountain, 
Till before thine eye shall gleam 

Wisdom's dome o'erarching all things; 
And the shadows of existence 

Into blessings then shall turn ; 
And truth's watch-fires from the distance 
With a nearing light shall burn : 

Burn within thy heart's recesses — 

Burn till all the dross shall die, 
Till thine anxious soul possesses 
Knowledge from the source on high — 
And beyond the thing once cherished 
Soars to home of angels glorious, 

But no joys of heaven shall bind ; 
Thou to earth shall speed victorious, 
Earnest work for man to find. 



Thou shalt work for poor and lowly — 
For the sinner and the saint; 

Rest o'er weary spirits breathing — 
Strength imparting to the faint. 

Then thy mortal mission ended, 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 195 

This thy song with angels blending, 

Shall proclaim in courts of heaven : 
'Peace on earth to man ascending — 
Peace forever more is given!' " 



The following, replete with the inculcations of the 
gospel of reason, was given by " Metoka " on another 
occasion : 

"Ask no priest, ye toiling mortals, 
If the angels can return. 
Rather light your lamps of knowledge 
Where the fires of wisdom burn — 

Burn alike for saint and sinner — 

Jew and Gentile — great and small ; 
Teaching from broad Nature's record: 

Man is free in Reason's hall. 

To that portal bring your problems ; 

Reason solves them one and all ; 
For she holds the key of heaven, 

And she wears no funeral pall, 

But her garments are all glorious 
As the bow that spans the sky. 
On the heart of each she traceth : 
f Souls immortal cannot die.' 

Then since light and life eternal 

To each human soul is given, 
Who shall circumscribe its limits 

To the spirit land called heaven ? 

Not the God of ancient Sinai — 
Not the Christian's God of Love ( ?) — 

For to man is given dominion 
Over all below — above ! 

Freedom's pean, Nature's anthem 

Each enfranchised spirit sings ; 
And to bear your loved ones earthward, 

Peace and truth shall lend them wings. 

Dwell no longer in the shadow, 

Where the tomb-walls close around. 
Rise ! and twine your wreathes of welcome, 

For your dead — your lost are found!" 



196 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

In this individual record — whose perusal we now 
conclude — prepared by Dr. Pike without the slight- 
est anticipation of its ever reaching the public eye, 
human life in all its variations of light and shade is 
traced as presented at these private seances for analy- 
sis by this wondrous mediumistic spectroscope ; and 
from the lessons deduced by the process flow confir- 
mation for the doubter, strength for the weak, encour- 
agement for the despondent — certainty for faith, and 
a glorious looking forward to the " good morning " 
of eternity, in place of sad forebodings at the "good 
night " of death ! 



PART VIII 



MISCELLANEOUS MANIFESTATIONS OF SPIRIT IN- 
TELLIGENCE. — THE HERMIT OF THE POWOW. 



PART VIII. 



Come to us the friends who vanished — 

Left us weeping on the shore ; 
Eden's garden find the banished, 

Eat and live forevermore ! — William Denton. 

I. 

Ok a certain occasion, while Mrs. Conant was 
residing at the Cummings House, Boston, she re- 
ceived a call from a stranger gentleman, who an- 
nounced himself as desirous of investigating the phe- 
nomena of spirit return, but said that he wished a 
particular test of identity from a friend of his, which 
he had never been able to obtain ; he had just visited 
a lady medium in another part of the city, and had 
there been told by the influence controlling, that the 
desired manifestation could not be given through 
her, but that if he would have a sitting with Mrs. 
Conant (the spirit giving him full directions as to 
where he could find her,) his friend would endeavor 
to grant his request. Although rather undecided in 
his mind as to the further pursuit of the subject, the 
gentleman concluded to essay one more trial, and 
accordingly made his appearance at the residence of 
Mrs. C, as per recommendation. Having taken seats 
at the table, the medium and her visitor became pas- 
sive to the influences, and awaited the result. Mrs. 

199 



200 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

C, as was her wont when anticipating the coming 
of spirits, held in her hand a pencil, and had spread 
before her a sheet of paper, in order that should the 
invisible intelligence not wish to entrance her, it 
might express its ideas in writing. Suddenly her 
hand began to rise and fall in a singular and very 
irregular manner, and the pencil continued for some 
moments to make a ticking sound upon the paper, for 
which it was wholly beyond the power of the medium 
to account. Finally, despairing of any influence con- 
trolling, and much confused as to the apparent failure 
of the seance, she said to her visitor : 

" It 's of no use. There seems to be no spirit pres- 
ent at this time who can communicate with you. 
There is one here, but it is evidently ignorant of the 
method of return, and cannot get full control." 

She expected, in her chagrin, that the investigator 
would express his dissatisfaction and retire, convinced 
in his mind that spirit communion — as far as the medi- 
um was concerned, at least, — was a fable ; but she was 
exceedingly surprised when he quietly informed her 
that he was perfectly satisfied — that the seance had 
been an entire success — that he had received the 
test he desired from his friend, and had written it 
out for preservation, unnoticed by her. On further 
explanation, it appeared that the visitor was a tele- 
graphic operator, and that the matter he desired to 
be informed about by his friend just passed away 
(who was also an operator) was of a nature known 
only to themselves ; this information the friend in the 
form wished the disembodied one on meeting him in 
presence of, or through the medium, to give by means 
of the telegraphic ticks used in the transmission of 



MHS. J. H. CONANT. 201 

mundane messages. This the influence had accom- 
plished mechanically through the pencil of Mrs. Co- 
nant while she in a normal state — and totally ignor- 
ant of the telegraphic alphabet — was wondering at 
the failure of the spirit to transcribe something which 
could be read. Thus the entire freedom of the chan- 
nel of communication from any knowledge of the 
matter given was clearly and satisfactorily proven to 
the gentleman. 

One evening, while she was residing at the same 
hotel, it so chanced that the room contiguous to 
that of herself and husband, was occupied by Mr. 
and Mrs. Gillett — the latter being also a medium. 
Over the door of each room was a square aperture 
for the purpose of ventilation, which was closed by 
means of a swinging window. On this occasion, 
when both parties had retired, the window above 
the door of Mrs. Conant's apartment began to be 
strangely agitated, and was violently opened, and 
allowed to fall again, several times, creating so much 
disturbance that Mr. Conant, after listening in vain 
for any sound in the hall which should betray the 
perpetrators, concluded that " the spirits " must be 
at work, and accordingly arose and fastened the of- 
fending sash so that no further difficulty could occur 
in that direction. Hardly, however,' had he again 
retired, when a spoon, which was placed in a glass 
near the bed, from which Mrs. C. had previously 
taken the contents, began a lively " tattoo," and, 
ringing like a bell, awoke the indignation of the hus- 
band for a second time. Having secured the offend- 
ing utensil and placed it in a closet in the room, he 
again lay down to repose. Loud knocks succeeded, 



202 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

and then Dr. Fisher controlling Mrs. Conant, in- 
formed her husband that the noises were owing to 
the close proximity of two such mediums as his wife 
and Mrs. Gillett — that the unseen intelligences of 
a playful order had discovered that they could con- 
centrate more force than usual in that locality, and 
were trying experiments to see what they could ac- 
complish. The Doctor further told Mr. Conant that, 
if he desired to stop the manifestations, all he need 
do would be to turn on the gas, and cause the room 
to be a little lighter. This Mr. C. at once accom- 
plished, and the trouble ceased. The nicety of the 
law governing physical manifestations as based upon 
the absence of light as an element too positive to be 
successfully surmounted, is here exemplified. 

Another singular circumstance occurred in the ex- 
perience of Mrs. Conant during her stay at this house. 
She was suddenly awakened at midnight by some 
impulse which she could not fathom, and sat up in 
bed, gazing doubtfully around for some minutes. 
All at once, not far from her couch, she beheld two 
forms — a male and a female — who looked kindly 
but steadfastly upon her. The male was crowned 
with a turban-like cap, upon the front of which glit- 
tered two golden crosses. His eyes were large and 
black ; his hair and beard of a dark hue — the latter 
being parted in the centre, and flowing over his 
breast, disclosing in the division a chain around his 
neck from which another gold cross was pendant. 
The lines around his mouth and upon his forehead 
indicated mental power and a firm will. The female 
(both figures being shown only in vignette) wore a 
small tasseled crest, ornamented with a large white 



MRS. J. H. COXAKT. 203 

feather, upon her head ; her hair was of a jetty black, 
whose darkness was relieved by ornaments of gold ; 
her face was more of an oval in cast — her eyes large 
and dark. A double chain of gold, to which a cross 
was attached, ornamented her shoulders, which were 
bare. 

The male spirit spoke to the medium, stating that 
while in earth life he occupied the post of Bishop in 
the Roman Catholic Church, and that the lady spirit 
present was his sister. They had made themselves 
apparent, he said, to E. Rodgers — a spirit artist 
then living in the West — he had painted their pic- 
tures, and when duplicates of them could be obtained 
he (the spirit) would impress him to send a copy of 
each to her, that she, knowing the artist to be an 
entire stranger to her, might be thoroughly con- 
vinced of the genuineness of their coming, and of the 
fact of their continued life. The duplicates, when 
they did arrive, were found in resemblance to be 
identical with the individuals seen by Mrs. Conant 
in her vision. 

II. 

" BIRDIE " WTLSCXN". 

Anna Cora "Wilson, daughter of Mr. and Mrs. 
Lewis B. Wilson of Boston, passed from earth life, 
October 27, 1858, at the early age of 12 years, 7 
months, 17 days. She has often returned, cheering 
her parents by messages in prose and versification, 
through the lips of Mrs Conant, both at the public 
stances at the Banner of Light rooms, and at the res- 
idence of the medium, where they are frequent vis- 
itors. Some of her metrical utterances have, in con- 



204 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

nection with music, found extensive use as songs — 
the following " Homeward Bound" having been em- 
bodied in the " Spiritual Harp : " 

" The buds are bursting in the vales, 
And changing into flowers, 
And the merry, merry birds of spring 
Are gladdening all the hours. 

So from my home of endless bloom, 

Like a wild bird, gay and free, 
I come to the hearts of those I love, 

Whose watch-light burns for me. 

Not o'er the chilling stream of death 

Did I paddle my fairy bark, 
But over the radiant river of life, 

Whose waters are never dark ; 

Whose white-capped waves your lilies bear 

From the cold, dark soil of earth, 
To plant them on the other side, 

And bless with a heavenly birth. 

Then dream no more of a river dark, 

And a boatman pale with years, 
Who will come to guide you through the mist 

And the end of mortal tears ; 

For only an angel full of love, 

With roses and lilies crowned, 
Will come to ferry you over the stream, 

When the soul is homeward bound. 

The following poem was given through Mrs. Co- 
nan t by " Birdie " for recitation by Master Warren 
H. Doolittle, at the Jubilee exercises commemorative 
of the twentieth anniversary of the birth of Modern 
Spiritualism, held at Music Hall, Boston, March 31, 
1868: 

"A goodly greeting the angels give 

On this glorious festal day ! 

For the shades of night 

Are taking their flight 

Before the Truth's clear ray ! 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 205 

Then wave your banners and sing your songs ! 
A requiem chant for the dead : 

For this morning light 

Is the death of night. 
And Error by Truth is led. 

You will fear no more to cross the tide 
In search of the heavenly goal, 

For the great white throne 

Of the All-Unknown 
Is found in the human soul. 

The fair book of life is opened wide 
Its fountain is flowing free ; 
And the spirit land 
Just over the strand, 
Is waiting for you and me!" 

At the close of a message referring to certain pecu- 
liar geographical experiences which she had after her 
transition from physical life, " Birdie " holds the fol- 
lowing language concerning our earth : 

' 'As I was meditating what the condition of the earth was mil- 
lions of ages ago, and wondering how such a beautiful planet 
was ever called from chaos, these thoughts came to me : 

" Folded safe in the arms of chaos and night 
This beautiful planet in slumber lay, 
Till the voice of our Father said, 'Let there be light!' 
Then out of the darkness came the new day. 

'All hail and thrice welcome ! ' sang that infinite band 
Of star-worlds that people the heavenly strand. 

'All hail to thy beauty, thy brightness and worth ! 
With sunbeams of glory we crown thee, fair earth. 

Go forth on thy mission, thou child of the sun, 
Nor ever forget that, though many, we're one; 
That in infinite wisdom we all must abide, 
As we sail through the air on eternity's tide.' 

Folded safe in the arms of chaos and night, 

The germ of the lily in darkness lays, 
Till the voice of our Father says, ' Come to the light ! ' 

Then rises the lily in garments of praise. 



206 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

So all beautiful truths in the fathomless deeps 

Of the infinite ocean of soul abide, 
Till the breath of Omnipotence over them sweeps, 

And they float on the waves of Time's rushing tide. 

Suns, systems, and atoms in order revolve 
Round an infinite centre of wisdom and love : 
And the dark night of chaos must yield up its dead 
When the beams of life's morning upon it are shed. 

On a certain Christmas* day the daughter returned 
through Mrs. C, bringing the following as her gift 
of love : 

" O mother, dearest mother! 

From my home beyond the tomb, 
With my Christmas gift of rosebuds, 
Twined with laurel leaves, I come ! 

Gemmed with dew is every petal, 
Sparkling in the Truth's clear light; 

Morning offerings from the soul-world, 
Culled by hands of angels bright ; 

They will never, never wither, 

But grow brighter ever hour, 
Till at last through perfect wisdom 

Every bud becomes a flower. 

Take them, mother, and to father 

Bear a portion of my love ; 
Tell him ' Birdie ' lives and loves him 

In her spirit-home above." 

As before mentioned, this spirit passed on in the 
month of October, 1858 ; at a public seance held on 
tha 21st of October, 1869, she took occasion to man- 
ifest — her parents being present — as at an anniver- 
sary of her change, addressing them in the following 
delicate and touching manner, which may prove of 
comfort to other hearts than theirs : 



" You are weary of life, dear mother, 
You are weary of mortal pain ; 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 207 

But the leaves of hope are fresh and green, 
And your mantle of faith, still of silver sheen, 
Tells the haven of death you will gain. 

Mother, dear, never for one moment think that God has 
separated me from you, for when the body is separated from the 
body, it does not follow that the soul ^hould be separated from 
the soul. Your home is my home ; and when you come to my 
life, our homes will be one. You will give up your home, and I 
shall have prepared one for you, but you will decorate it with your 
own good thoughts and your own good deeds. I thought I would 
come to-day, mother, because it is October — a month bringing sad 
memories to you, because it was then I went away. But it only 
comes once a year, and after that the pure snow of winter falls, and 
covers and protects the flowers, that when the spring comes they 
may come forth again in beauty. And so will it be with you 
and I, dear mother." When you have done with this life, the 
spring-time of the other life will have come. No Octobers there, 
no partings, no graves, no more sadness, no more tears." 

JOSEPHINE CAHLTON. 

The following lines were given at a public free circle 
through the mediumship of Mrs. Conant, by the spirit 
of a member of that class of female unfortunates de- 
nominated prostitutes, upon whom society has seem- 
ingly united to press the brand of infamy, albeit they 
are mainly " more sinned against than sinning." The 
production is here published as an instance of spirit in- 
dividuality rather than for any intrinsic merit it con- 
tains — it being stated by the controlling intelligence 
that the style of the composition would be recognized 
by the friends of the manifestor. Josephine met her 
death by fire in a city in the West. The controlling 
intelligence at the stance at which this poem was pro- 
nounced, said, among other things, previous to intro- 
ducing the spirit : 

" Learn by the earth history of this unfortunate one, that you 



208 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

should not measure truth and virtue by the standard of human 
law — that none but the Infinite is able to measure them cor- 
rectly, or to mete out justice to each and all of his children. 
Then cast no stone, for if you do, in the hereafter you will bit- 
terly regret it. Therefore spare yourself, the regret that many 
are plunged into. Censure no one. Rather lift your souls to 
the Great Infinite Power of Goodness, asking that all may be 
strong, and none weak enough to fail in the way of life." • 

POEM. 

"Away from the sunshine, and out in the cold, 
'Mid the wild waves of sin and sorrow untold, 
I slept the last sleep which to mortals is given, 
And dreamed of my mother, an angel in heaven. 

Full twenty-five years of earth-life had fled, 

Since I stood, a fair child, at that mother's death bed, 

And heard her last sigh, her last blessing given, 

As she whispered, 'My darling, I'll meet you in heaven.' 

Those twenty-five years with life's dregs had been filled, 
And all the bright hopes of my soul had been stilled; 
For the tempter, with syren voice, had beguiled 
My feet from the path where true happiness smiled. 

1 0, Father of Mercies ! ' I cried, in my woe, 

* Give me one ray of sunlight — just one — ere I go ; 

Let my weary head rest on the bosom of Him 

Who pitied the fallen, and understood sin.' 

Hark! what is that music that floats on the air? 
'T is the voice of my mother, so sweet and so clear ; 
And she bids me look upward, nor fear to depart 
From the world where sin's arrows sink deep in the heart. 



O ! can it be true that she folds me once more 
To the bosom of love on Eternity's shore ? 
Yes, yes, 'tis all true — I am safe from the storm 
Of temptation and sin, and the cold world's frown.' , 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 209 

III. 

The following story is presented as an instance of 
the wide range of literary matter given from time to 
time through the organism of the medium. The 
sketch (as stated in a preceding Part) was mechani- 
cally written for the columns of the Banner of Light, 
(appearing in No. 5, Vol. V. — April 9th, 1859,) 
through the hand of Mrs. Conant, by unseen authors. 



THE STOLEN CHILD: 

OR, 

THE HERMIT OF THE POWOW. 

A. TRL T E STORY. . 

In a low-roofed cottage upon the banks of the 
Powow, dwelt an old man, and a girl about fourteen 
years of age. Some twelve years previous to the 
time of the opening of our story, the good villagers 
of Amesbury were suddenly surprised by the appear- 
ance of a stranger in their midst. He came among 
them like a shadow, bearing in his arms a sickly and 
puny-looking babe of two years. His foreign air and 
uncouth appearance rendered him a fitting object for 
village gossip. 

" I wonder where he came from ? " said one ; and 
" I wonder what he intends to do with that child? " 
said another; " Who do you suppose he will get to. 
keep his house ? " asked a third ; but as there was no 
one to answer these questions, the tongue of gossip 
became quiet, and the stranger pursued the even 



210 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

tenor of his way, like one unknown. He rarely held 
converse with any of the villagers, seeming to prefer 
a life of solitude. He was often seen walking out 
with the child early in the morning ; and, in the 
evening, smoking a long-stemmed pipe in front of his 
cottage door. At the village store, he always bought 
the best, never stopping to inquire the price of the 
articles there obtained. One old lady, actuated by 
curiosity, ventured to call upon him ; but being rude- 
ly repulsed, no one else dared to follow her example. 
The little girl was often seen playing near the cot- 
tage ; but if, in passing, any one chanced to speak to 
her, the stranger was always sure to call her in, thus 
keeping all doors of knowledge securely barred con- 
cerning their mode of life and former history. 

Toward the close of a sultry day in July, in the 
year 18 — , the old man and his youthful charge 
— now a beautiful girl of fourteen summers — was 
seen to ride away from the cottage in a close travel- 
ing carriage. The children of the village determined 
to gratify the spirit of inquisitiveness which possessed 
them, by looking into the windows of the dwelling 
just vacated by the old man and his lovely protege*, 
after having first satisfied themselves that the myste- 
rious pair had passed beyond the limits of the town. 
But to their utter dismay, they found that the inside 
shutters of the cottage were closed, and firmly bolted ; 
so, after taking a survey of the premises, they de- 
parted not a whit the wiser than when they came. 

Nine days passed, and yet "the Hermit," as the 
villagers appropriately named him, had not returned 
to Amesbury. On the evening of the tenth day, 
however, lights were discerned in the cottage. With- 



MTtS. J. H. CONANT. 211 

in a small, but handsomely furnished apartment, the 
young girl, before mentioned, was seated, apparently 
busily engaged in reading. At one extremity of the 
room sat the old man smoking his pipe, and evidently 
absorbed with his own reflections. 

Suddenly rising from his seat, the hermit moved 
towards the table before which the young girl was 
seated, and requested her to lay aside her book and 
listen to him. 

" Well, father, what is wanted now ? " asked the 
fair creature addressed, as she pettishly cast aside 
her book and turned towards him with a slight frown 
distorting her handsome face. 

" What is wanted now ? " echoed the old man ; " I 
wish to communicate to you what you have so long 
sought to learn, namely, the history of your birth." 

" Oh, then I shall be no dull listener," replied the 
young girl, as half ashamed of the peevishness which 
she had so lately manifested, she rose from her chair 
and imprinted a fond kiss upon the broad and expan- 
sive brow of him whom she had known and loved 
from earliest infancy as a father. 

The tenderness of innocent and confiding child- 
hood was irresistible even to the hermit's heart, and 
so, drawing his beautiful charge toward him, he af- 
fectionately caressed her, and looking earnestly into . 
the depths of her violet-colored eyes, bade her, in 
tones of unmistakable kindness, to take a seat upon 
his knee. 

This slight wish gratified, the old man began the 
recital of a story which had long remained secretly 
locked within his breast, by saying : 

44 Twelve years ago this very night, I brought you 



212 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

in my arms to this cottage. You were then one 
year and eleven months old, and as fine and promis- 
ing a babe as one might ever have wished to see. 
Since that time no hand but mine has ministered to 
your growing wants. I cradled you in my arms dur- 
ing your infancy ; sung you to sleep at nightfall, and 
sought to train aright your young mind, as it daily 
expanded with the growth of your body. The seeds 
of knowledge, which I sowed in you, fell not upon 
unthankful soil, for you are not only well versed in 
English literature, but have some familiarity with 
the arts and sciences of olden time. It is true you 
are deficient in many of the lighter and ornamental 
branches of education, usually classed under the head 
of female accomplishments ; but there is already time 
enough yet for the acquisition of these, should you 
desire it in after years. You have often asked me 
why I kept you so closely confined within these cot- 
tage walls, and if I always intended to do so ? I am 
now ready to answer these oft-repeated questions. 
First, my motive in keeping you prisoner these twelve 
long years was, that I might fulfill a fiendish and 
most inhuman vow, made by me several years since, 
and prompted by a bitter feeling of revenge, on ac- 
count of the terrible wrongs and cruelty I then ex- 
perienced. Remorse has at last touched my heart, 
and the justice and freedom so long denied you, are 
now near at hand. In short, I have no further in- 
tention of keeping you captive here in this quiet and 
secluded town more than a week or two longer ; then 
you will return to your native land, and kindred, 
where, amidst new and exciting scenes, you will learn 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 21& 

to forget the old man whom you have always been 
taught to call by the endeared name of father." 

" What ! " exclaimed the young girl, " are you not 
then my father? " and a look of mingled sorrow and 
surprise overspread her fair features as she quickly 
sprung to her feet, and stood silently awaiting the 
old man's reply. 

u Hush, child ! " said the hermit. " No, I am not 
your father ; but have patience, and you shall soon 
know all ! " 

Again the delicate head, with its soft ripples of 
golden hair, was pillowed upon the stout and manly 
breast of the hermit, whom many feared and few or 
none loved, as with quivering lip and slightly trem- 
ulous voice, he continued : 

" Near eighteen years ago I lived in London, and 
was there betrothed to a woman, alas! you never 
knew — your mother — and by name Alice Camp- 
bell. The day appointed for our marriage arrived. 
All things were in readiness, and even the guests 
were assembled in the princely drawing-room of Sir 
John Campbell's mansion, when my intended bride 
was taken suddenly ill, and the long anticipated mar- 
riage of Alice and myself was indefinitely postponed. 

During the illness of your mother, which was pro- 
nounced to be that of brain fever, (and which lasted 
some four or five weeks,) the invalid, whose pres- 
ence I was denied on the plea of Alice's deliriousness 
of mind, was constantly visited by one Lord George 
Hazeltine, a nephew of Sir John Campbell, who had 
but recently resigned a military commission which 
he had held most honorably during a five years res- 
idence in India. I had met with him but a few 



214 . A BIOGRAPHY OF 

times previous to the period appointed for my mar- 
riage with his cousin Alice, whom he had not seen 
since she was a small child. There was much of the 
true-hearted and chivalrous soldier about Lord Haz- 
eltine, (now sole heir to several valuable estates in 
England,) that won my sincere friendship, destined 
alas ! to be of short duration. 

As Alice grew convalescent, I urged that our mar- 
riage should no longer be delayed, but as weeks 
lengthened into months, and the lady still plead phys- 
ical weakness, and seemed in no way anxious for the 
consummation of an event upon which I had based 
my life's entire happiness in after years, I began to 
grow disheartened and impatient at this strange and 
unlooked-for turn in love affairs. 

While breakfasting alone at one of the numerous 
public coffee-houses in London one fine morning, my 
attention was attracted by two gentlemen who oc- 
cupied seats at the next table, by their distinctly 
audible conversation, which, assuming the tone of a 
dialogue ran as follows : 

4 Well, Captain, do you attend the grand wedding 
to-morrow? ' said the younger of the two, addressing 
his companion, a man of proud bearing, and wear- 
ing Her Majesty's uniform. 

6 Whose wedding ? ' inquired the officer, as he 
paused from sipping the cup of fragrant Mocha be- 
fore him. 

4 Why, the young and beautiful daughter of Sir 
John Campbell is to marry the ex-Colonel, Lord 
Hazeltine. I am surprised that you have not heard 
such a rare bit of gossip before this, for the affair, 
though a sudden one, is nevertheless the all absorb- 



MRS. J. IT. CONANT. 215 

in<r theme of conversation in fashionable circles. Lord 
Hazeltine, report says, is a cousin of the lady, whom 
she has not seen since a child, and whose military 
honors and immense wealth have given him the pre- 
cedence over his less fortunate rival, Sir Charles 
Nottingham.' 

I could hear no more, for the thought that I had 
been most cruelly deceived by one whose love was 
far dearer to me than even life itself, was madness ; 
my first impulse was to choke the villain, who, 
stranger though he was, had dared to utter in my 
presence words of falsity and mocking pity, thereby 
adding insult to injury. But a few moments' reflec- 
tion begat in my soul a more merciful and reasonable 
spirit, and the idea that perhaps my love and confi- 
dence in Alice had blinded my eyes to the cunning 
and well-laid schemes of treachery of her accomplice 
and lover, now rapidly forced itself upon my hitherto 
unsuspecting mind, with terrible weight. 

Without even questioning those who had spoken 
so lightly of the contemplated marriage of one who 
was, perchance, about to sacrifice her heart's happi- 
ness at the shrine of wealth and worldly fame, I 
seized my hat and rushed into the crowded street, 
resolved upon ending all further suspense in the 
matter by calling upon Alice, and learning from her 
lips the bitter truth or villainous falsehood. 

A few minutes of hard walking brought me to the 
residence of Sir John Campbell. Inquiring for Miss 
Alice of the servant who answered the bell, I was 
told that she was busily engaged with her mantua- 
maker, and could receive no visitors during the day. 

Determined not to leave the house without behold- 



216 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

ing my still loved Alice, I was on the point of bribing 
the servant to procure me an interview with his mis- 
tress, when Sir John Campbell suddenly made his 
appearance in the hall, and after directing the ser- 
vant to conduct me to the reception room, departed 
immediately, for the purpose of informing his daughter 
that I was awaiting her presence below. 

Full half an hour had elapsed — an age of indefin- 
able torture and suspense to my impatient mind — 
when Alice Campbell, with a face as blanched and 
colorless as marble, made her appearance in the small 
but handsomely furnished reception room of her 
father's dwelling. One glance at that cold and 
strangely altered countenance was enough to confirm 
my worst suspicions. A brief conversation now en- 
sued between both parties, in which Alice Campbell 
freely confessed the base piece of deception of which 
she had been the guilty originator, adding that her 
anticipated marriage with her cousin, Lord Hazeltine, 
was a matter of no small delight to her parents, who 
had from the first favored his suit. 

I asked for no further explanation, confident as I 
was of no longer possessing the love of one whose 
heart I had always believed incapable of inconstancy 
and deceit. I did not heap curses upon the head of 
her whose cruelty had thus blasted each rising hope, 
and shut out the sunlight of love from my soul for- 
evermore, but I bade Alice Campbell a respectful, 
aye, even tender adieu, as I hastily made my exit 
from her father's house. 

At ten- o'clock the following morning, the church 
of St. Paul was occupied with a large and expectant 
assemblage, all of whom were anxiously awaiting the 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 217 

appearance of the distinguished ex-soldier and his in- 
tended bride. A perceptible flutter ran through the 
crowd, and instantaneously all eyes were turned to- 
ward the open door, upon whose threshold stood 
Alice and Lord Hazeltine. Another second and the 
bridal train had passed up the broad and richly carpet- 
ed aisle, forming a semi-circle about the altar. Like a 
freshly chiseled piece of statuary looked Alice Camp- 
bell, as she knelt upon the steps of the altar, with 
the heavy folds of her white satin robe falling in 
artistic grace to her daintily slippered feet. The 
marriage ceremony passed without interruption, and 
the newly wedded pair turned to leave the church. 
Determined that Alice should be made aware of my 
presence, I stationed myself upon the sidewalk just 
outside the church door. The crowd surrounding 
me, however, was so dens'e that I, the deceived and 
broken-hearted lover of her youth, would have been 
unnoticed by Alice, had it not been that the lady's 
veil accidentally caught in the coat button of a gen- 
tleman who stood next to me. Turning to disentan- 
gle it, the eyes of Alice Hazeltine fell unexpectedly 
upon my sorrowful countenance. A convulsive shud- 
der passed over her slight frame, as with fast paling 
lips and closing eyes, the conscience stricken girl pro^ 
nounced the once cherished name of ' Nottingham ! ' 
I saw the look of anxiety and tenderness which the 
bridegroom cast upon the lovely features of his 
swooning bride, as lifting her in his strong arms he 
bore her to the carriage, which stood in readiness to 
convey them to their future home ; then drawing my 
hat closely over my eyes, to avoid the observation of 
strangers who had witnessed the scene that had just 



218 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

transpired, I hastened away from trie spot, with 
but one thought firing my burning brain — that of 
revenge ! 

Time passed on. Alice Campbell, now* Lady Haz- 
eltine, had made an extensive bridal tour through 
Southern Europe, and had returned once again to 
England, just in time to give birth to a daughter. 
Absence had strengthened rather than lessened the 
desire for revenge, in my heart, toward one who had 
spurned my soul's deep love, for worldly dross and 
fame. When you were four months old, I learned 
by chance that a public christening was to take place 
at St. Paul's Church. The spirit of vengeance was 
paramount in my breast, and I soon succeeded in lay- 
ing a plan for your abduction, which proved as success- 
ful as the most fiendish of wretches could have de- 
sired. The ceremony completed, the little Alice — 
nay, start not, my child, for such you were called 
after your mother, (the name of Mary Flanders being 
merely an assumed one, and given you by me, in or- 
der to ensure your more perfect concealment) — was 
sent home in a private carriage, accompanied only by 
its nurse, while Lord and Lady Hazeltine remained at 
church for the purpose of participating in the Sabbath 
morning exercises. The coach had not proceeded on its 
way more than a few squares, when I rode up on horse- 
back to the side of the vehicle, requested the coachman 
(who by the way, recognized me at once as Sir Charles 
Nottingham,) to stop, and informed the unsuspecting 
nurse that the babe was wanted at church, and that 
I had been commissioned by Lord and Lady Hazel- 
tine to bring you to them myself without a moment's 
delay. All objections upon the part of the old nurse 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 219 

were, of course, at once overcome by the powerful 
arguments of the faithful coachman who had had fees 
paid by me too often in past years, to entertain the 
slightest suspicion of my honesty of purpose. With 
the babe safely in my clutches, I turned my horse's 
head in the direction of St. Paul's Church, and thus 
rode quickly on, until the carriage containing the 
nurse had passed entirely out of sight ; then putting 
spurs to my horse, I dashed off into a narrow street 
which led to a remote quarter of the city, and having 
reached my intended place of destination, I placed 
you in the care of an old woman whom I had bribed 
with gold to utmost secrecy in the matter. 

With her you remained until you were one year 
and eleven months old, when under cover of the 
night, I sailed in the ' Lapwing ' for America, bearing 
you along with me. Meantime large rewards had 
been offered throughout the city of London for your 
recovery, but all to no avail. I had at last gained 
the revenge which I had for months prayed for, and 
I now gloated in secret over the desolation which I 
had wrought in the home of my rival. 

On arriving in New York, I took passage on board 
a sloop bound for Newburyport, where I remained 
only a few days, and then brought you to Amesbury, 
where you have grown up from infancy almost to 
womanhood, secluded from the bustle and confusion 
of the world, and carefully guarded from the eye of 
public curiosity, by him whom the villagers have 
styled the ' Hermit of the Powow,' and whom you 
have heretofore known, only as your father, and by 
name, William Flanders." 

It was past midnight when the old man concluded 



220 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

the recital of a tale, which more than once during 
its progress had wrung tears from the eyes of the 
beautiful girl whom he lovingly held in his arms. 
With many thanks for the revelation made to her, 
after the lapse of so many years, during which the 
inquisitive child had been kept in entire ignorance of 
the history of her birth, Alice Hazeltine fervently 
kissed him good-night, whom she had indeed learned 
to love as a father, and hastened to her solitary bed- 
chamber to dream of the joys which the future held 
in store for her, when, restored once more to the arms 
of a mother whose love she had never known, she 
could explore the mysteries of the great and living 
world, from which she had been thus far shut out. 

A month later, and the hermit and Alice Hazeltine 
bade farewell to their quiet home on the banks of the 
Powow, for New York, from which city they em- 
barked for England in the " Witch of the Wave." 

After a somewhat tempestuous passage, Sir Charles 
Nottingham and his beautiful charge arrived at their 
destined port, Liverpool. A few hours ride brought 
them to England's great metropolis — London. Here 
the hermit learned from the lips of strangers that 
Lord Hazeltine had died of consumption, some five 
years before, induced by a life of dissipation, and 
that his gentle wife was residing with her aged 
parents. 

After procuring new wardrobes for both Alice and 
himself, and a disguise to be used when occasion re- 
quired it, the hermit, now greatly improved in per- 
sonal appearance, took lodgings for " Charles Not- 
tingham and ward," as he registered their names 
upon the books at one of the most fashionable hotels 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 221 

in London. After a week's sojourn in that city, the 
hermit, clothed in a disguise which at first baffled all 
efforts at recognition upon the part of even Alice, set 
out for the Campbell mansion, the residence of Alice 
Hazeltine. Arriving there, he requested a few mo- 
ments' conversation with Lady Hazeltine, but was 
told by the servant that his mistress did not give 
audience to paupers. Vexed and insulted, he re- 
fused to leave the house until he had communicated 
his errand, which he declared to be of great import- 
ance to Lady Hazeltine. The foppish lackey, find- 
ing that he had found a customer who was not to be 
repulsed, at last departed to execute his commission, 
leaving our hero standing alone in the hall. 

Arrayed in sable robes, her former beauty saddened 
but not destroyed, Lady Hazeltine descended the 
stairs, and in a tone of deep compassion requested 
the old man to follow her into an ante-room. His 
first words, upon finding themselves secure from the 
listening ears of others, were, 

" Madam, I believe it was your misfortune to lose 
some years since a beautiful infant." 

" You speak truly, sir," replied Lady Hazeltine, 
" but how is it that a stranger is so well informed of 
a circumstance which transpired fourteen years ago? " 

" Pardon my presumption, lady, but promise me 
that you will sincerely answer me one question more, 
and I will tell you that regarding your stolen child that 
will make your motherly heart dance with joy." 

Mystified and trembling, the lady could only bow 
her assent to the old man's last remark. " Tell me, 
Lady Hazeltine, did you ever love Mm to whom you 
were once betrothed — Sir Charles Nottingham?" 



222 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

'-'-Love Mm ? God in heaven alone knows how much 
I loved him, and how deeply I wronged his noble 
heart ! But who are you, sir? " said the lady, recov- 
ering her dignity and composure, " that thus dares to 
penetrate into the innermost secrets of my soul ? " 

" Would you know, madam ? " said the hermit, 
throwing off his tattered disguise ; " then behold in 
me, one who once loved Alice Campbell — ay, more 
than that — who still loves her now, Sir Charles Not- 
tingham, the frenzied lover, and cruel abductor of 
her child, who, thank God, still lives ! " 

The shock was too great for the sensitive nature 
of Alice Hazeltine to endure. A fainting fit ensued, 
which the careful efforts of Sir Charles Nottingham 
soon conquered. Upon the lady's restoration to her 
former spirits, suitable explanations were made by 
both parties, which ended in the reunion of mother 
and child, and the mutual forgiveness of two who 
had equally sinned. 

A fortnight later, and the Campbell mansion was the 
scene of a private but happy wedding — that of Lady 
Hazeltine and Sir Charles Nottingham, known for 
many years in Amesbury as "The Hermit of the 
Powow ! " 



PART IX 



CHARACTERISTIC MESSAGES. — VERIFICATION" OP 
SPIRIT MESSAGES. 



PART IX. 



"Cheer up, sad hearts, 'tis not all dark 

That broods upon our morning ; 
Above us sings the heavenly lark, 

And sweetest light is dawning. 
For all our grief, there 's sweet relief, 

Though all the world may doubt us ; 
Oh, never fear, the' day is near, * 

There 's love and light about us." 

" In soul, man mounts and flies — 
In flesh he dies — 
Not that he may not here, 
Taste of the cheer ; 
But as birds drink and straight lift up their head, 
So must he dip and think, 
Of better drink 
He may attain to, after he is dead!" — Herbert. 

I. 

Under the classification : " Characteristic Mes- 
sages," the reader is presented with a few examples 
from the great mass of individual spirit communica- 
tions which have from time to time been given 
through the mediumship of Mrs. Conant. Those 
annexed are selected as being stamped to a more 
than usual degree with the seal of originality as to 
matter and diction, or the peculiar mental traits of 
persons from whom they profess to emanate. The 
following from the spirit of one of the former pub- 
lishers of the Banner of Light (and contained in its 

225 



226 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

issue for Saturday, September 16, 1871,) is replete 
with the firm will, and tireless activity which marked 
his path of life on earth : 

WILLIAM BEERY. 

"At the urgent solicitations of many of my friends, 
I presume to occupy this place for a few moments, 
and in course of time to occupy a short space in your 
columns. They want to know why it is that I have 
not returned, manifesting through the Banner of 
Light. They expected it long ago, they said. 
They expected much of me. They are disap- 
pointed. They thought I would bring them news 
that would perhaps eclipse all that they had ever 
obtained. They thought I was so well posted on 
spiritual matters here, that I should be able to do 
much for them, in returning and manifesting through 
this and other media. The first great objection is, 
I am not much given to speech-making — would 
rather hear some one else than myself. The second 
is, I have no taste for the labor of vitalizing block- 
heads, who know nothing about Spiritualism, and 
care nothing about it. And as the Message Depart- 
ment of the Banner is devoted mainly to that class 
of individuals, I have deemed it proper, inasmuch as 
my instincts do not lead me that way, to remain 
behind the scenes. And, again, as I have been 
largely occupied in the spirit-world, being the pub- 
lisher of a daily journal very much larger than the 
dear old Banner, of course I have something to do. 
Notwithstanding I have an able corps of assistants, the 
editorial department being under the jurisdiction of 
the able Henry J'. Raymond, of New York — yet, 
notwithstanding all their assistance, I have enough 
to do, and have found it much more profitable to stay 
behind the scenes — to assist from behind the scenes 
in the process of vitalizing those mortal blockheads. 
That is just the term I mean to use, and none other 
will suit the case. 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 227 

And, again, I am afraid, seeing all I am able to see 
of their prejudices, that if I were to stand too near I 
would be likely to use the mallet instead of moral 
suasion. Instead of going on month after month, and 
year after year, trying to prove the immortality of the 
soul, and the power of the soul to return after death, 
I should speedily open those blockheads and let the 
soul out where it would fly higher and see clearer. 
And as we spirits are Jargely possessed of power over 
matter, I might be tempted to make a bad use of it. 
So, you see, I have various reasons for not communi- 
cating through the Banner of Light, and for not using 
my influence for the furtherance of modern Spiritual- 
ism on earth. Good day. William Berry." 

II. 

A former physican of Mrs. Conant gives his ex- 
perience concerning her case, and its after effects 
upon his mind, in the subjoined message, which was 
spoken through- the organism of the medium at a 
seance held September 5, 1872 : 

DR. JOHN GARDINER. 

" I went forth from this life in absolute darkness, 
since I did not believe in a life after death ; but a 
good God, being no respecter of persons, was quite 
as good to me as to any one else, and I have learned, 
or rather unlearned, the mistakes I made on earth. 
I am now in the enjoyment of circumstances or con- 
ditions that prove to me that the soul is endowed 
with eternal life. There was nothing on earth that 
proved that to me. The church was a myth, and all 
the various religious faiths were like so much chil- 
dren's play to my mind. I was a physician by edu- 
cation and occupation. When I saw the breath pass- 
ing out from the dying, I said : ' that is the last of 
them.' I believed it, and I promised some of my 
good church going friends that I would assure them 
in some way if it were possible to, of my change of 



228 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

faith in the other life, provided I found another life, 
and changed my faith. They did not know of this 
happy way of return, neither did I. But I am com- 
pelled to say to them that with all their churchly power 
and influence and faith, they are quite as much in the 
dark as I was. They will find quite as much diffi- 
culty in ascertaining their true status in spirit life, as 
I did. I would advise them to change the base of 
their operations here on earth, and investigate by 
this new light that seems to be flooding the world, 
and that offers everybody, rich and poor, bond and 
free, a chance to bask in its beams. That is my advice 
to them. 

I had a singular experience with this medium, 
whose physician I was for a time during my earth 
life, which produced so great an impression on my 
mind that I never forgot it, and I really believe it 
was the remembrance of that, which roused me to 
consciousness in. the spirit life, and made me know 
where I was, and what change I had passed through. 
It may not be amiss for me to relate that experience : 

One afternoon, in the year eighteen hundred and 
fifty-one, I was called to see this medium, who was 
sick at that time. Her powers in this direction were 
not known — neither by herself, I believe, nor by any 
of her friends. On coming to her bedside, I soon 
saw that she was in the last stage of Asiatic cholera. 
The fatal collapse had set in, and the physician knows 
too well where that must end. I saw not the slight- 
est hope in her case ; when, to my surprise she aroused 
and said tome, 'Doctor, can you save me?' I merely 
replied, ' I am sorry I was not called before ; I will do 
what I can.' 

I immediately prepared the remedies which I usu- 
ally gave in such cases, and added 'something a little 
unusual, deeming it would have a good effect in her 
case, if anything could. I administered the medicine 
once in twenty minutes. I watched for the effect, but 
there was none. True to its nature, the disease pre- 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 229 

vented the action of any remedies upon the system. 
They had no effect whatever. The remedies which 
I had given, were the best, the very best known to 
me, and those which would never fail, if given before 
the setting in of this fatal collapse ; but I was in- 
formed by her attendants that this condition had been 
upon her for over four hours, consequently I made 
up my mind she was fast sinking in death. 

After having administered four, or perhaps five 
doses with no effect, she again roused, turned to me, 
and said, 4 Doctor, double the dose and give it to me 
once in ten minutes, and also apply baked potatoes 
under my arms, on my wrists, and on my feet.' Bind 
them on, hot from the oven.' I said to myself, 
' Nothing can do her any good ; in my opinion, 
nothing can do her any harm ; this order shall be 
obeyed.' I carried it out as quickly as possible. 
After sitting by her bed some two — between two 
and three — hours longer, I felt the pulse returning, 
and saw that the hue of death upon her face was de- 
parting. I began to hope, I scarce knew why. I knew 
that there never had been a case on record where a 
recovery had ensued after collapse had set in. But 
she slowly began to improve, and after about three 
hours the pulse became plainly apparent. It was 
evident that she was better. She then looked up to 
me and said, ' Doctor, I shall live ; give me twenty 
drops of laudanum, with twenty drops of spirits of 
camphor, once in twenty minutes, until I sleep. I 
shall get well.' 

I was particularly averse to all narcotics, and never 
gave them. I left them out of my practice entirely, 
and she knew it ; so I hesitated. She again made 
the request, and it seemed to me to come in the form 
of a demand. I had not the remedy with me, be- 
cause I never used it. I inquired if it was kept in 
the house. No, it was not. One of the attendants 
immediately said, ' I will go for it.' It was brought 
from the nearest druggist's, and I gave it according 



230 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

to her directions. After I had given three doses, she 
slept. When she awoke she was beyond all dan- 
ger, and I left her, wondering what was the power 
that had spoken to me, for I felt conscious it was 
something besides herself that had given me such 
orders — had worked so miraculously. I termed it a 
miracle. 

When the friends and neighbors inquired of me 
concerning her sickness, I said, ' I cannot tell you 
how it is that I have saved her; certainly it was a 
miracle.' By the remembrance of that miracle, my 
own consciousness was quickened in the higher life. 
By the same power, I return here, speaking through 
these very lips that I was the instrument of saving in 
mortal life years ago. 

We cannot tell how truly God speaks to us, even 
through the simplest methods. We should heed all 
the voices of nature, I think, and weigh them well, 
and when we meet with anything that clashes with 
our fixed opinions, instead of throwing it aside, we 
should analyze it — we should ask, whether or no 
God has not sent it to us as a revelation direct from 
himself. I am Dr. John Gardiner, of Portsmouth, 
N.H." 

III. 

The message here transferred from the pages of 
the Banner of Light of June 18, 1857, is inserted, that 
the physiological and psychological lessons therein 
contained may be urged anew upon the general mind.- 
Public opinion, bulwarked behind assumed medical 
data, has been accustomed to deny conscious, indi- 
vidualized intelligence to the foetus in gestation, be- 
fore the quickening period, and stoutly rejects the 
idea of immortal existence as applied to infants who 
come still-born into the confines of physical life, and 
are as quickly immured in the bosom of earth to 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 231 

undergo the natural process of decay. The mani- 
festing spirit, however, declares its existence in the 
spirit world. The fact that it indeed never saw the 
light of the earthly sun is strictly true, as after the 
publication of the message its every circumstance 
was verified by the testimony of the parents of the 
child — Mr. and Mrs. Mical Tubbs — then of Boston, 
Mass., but now residing in San Francisco, Cal. They 
were much pleased as well as astonished to read the 
words of one who passed out of the physical ere con- 
tact Avith the grosser forms of materiality had clouded 
and saddened the germ of its spiritual life. The 
child having no name given it on earth, could only 
in manifesting, repeat its angel name : 



" Twenty-six years ago, I passed to the spirit land. 
My eyes were never opened to behold the beauties 
of earth, for my material and spiritual birth were all 
one. Yet when the breath of the living God first 
thrilled and filled my infant form, ere it was matured 
in shape, or molded in the image of Deity, I became 
a living soul ; a flower that the Great Architect had 
breathed into a spiritual existence. Therefore I was 
fit to become an inhabitant of the spirit world, and as 
an inhabitant, destined to progress, for progress is 
marked with the finger of Deity upon all He hath 
made. The parents to whom my mortal body be- 
longed are still dwellers in the earth life, and to them 
I often return, making them fully realize that the 
body they beheld only in death, once encased an im- 
mortal spirit, and that that spirit has been taught of 
its earthly kindred by the angels who are constantly 
going to and from earth, making the connection 
between earth and the eternal world complete. For 
as the mortal and immortal bodies are for a time 



232 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

united, even so are the natural and spiritual world 
combined in one, forming the great whole. Again 
— as the material or natural body is dead without 
the spiritual or immortal body, even so would the 
natural world pass into decay, unless it were imme- 
diately connected with the spiritual, the immortal 
world, which bears no decay, recognizes no death. 

By and through this connection the angels do 
return and commune with the plants from whence 
they sprung, or had their natural existence in. As 
the sunlight of earth kisses the flowers into new life, 
even so shall the coming angels kiss into new life the 
dead ones of earth. And as death is traced upon all 
save God, all evils eventually die, and God and his 
creations live eternally. All creations of the Al- 
mighty are fashioned in the image of intelligence 
which is the image of God, from whence all intellect 
or wisdom emanates, and to which all wisdom in the 
lower must ascend ; for God calleth to his own in 
earthly temples, and the answering spirit leaves all 
that is mortal at the call of the immortal, and comes 
up hither, to realize its maker in a diviner sense. 

"When disease is raging in mortal forms, then the 
elements are at war, and unless peace can be restored 
the spirit takes its flight, the mortal dies and the 
elements are at rest. 

Again, when evil takes upon itself the form of 
disease, then evil is sure to conquer, unless wisdom 
and nature stand upon the immortal side. 

Man, in his natural state, was not subject to dis- 
ease, because wisdom then stood at nature's right 
hand ; but alas ! folly now stands there in place of 
wisdom, and wisdom has wandered afar off. Thus 
thousands are continually passing from you to us, by 
reason of folly. Call aloud, oh ye foolish ones, that 
wisdom may again return, and fill your darkened 
temples with light." 



MftS. J. H. CONANT. 233 

IV. 

Citations are here made from messages delivered 
by two chiefs of renown among the Indian tribes of 
the North American continent, that an idea may be 
conveyed of the earnest, dignified, and at the same 
time truly eloquent character of the red man's utter- 
ances through Mrs. Conant : 

LOGAN. 

" Hail, Sachems ! the Indian comes to add to your 
council fire, and give strength to your medium. 
Moons come and go, and yet the pale-face heedeth 
not the cry of the Indian. Bravery and skill the 
Indian finds written on the brow, but within he 
finds fear. Pale-faces, you need not have fear. The 
Great Spirit commandeth and you follow. 

Pale-faces, you have mighty souls to follow, great 
fires to kindle ; the wigwam is large, needing much 
warmth and light, and you call for warmth and 
light, and you get them from the Great Spirit. 

Pale sachem, mighty ones come to your council, 
and you make no obeisance ; you heed them not be- 
cause you see them not. Time will come when you 
will see and will not fear; now if you saw you would 
fear. Call for mighty intellects, for big lights, and 
you will get them. 

The Indian sees you standing in mist, and he looks 
down the future, and he sees you standing in sunlight. 
Paddle you own canoes ; ask no aid save of the Great 
Spirit. Pale-faces, the sun goes down, and the In- 
dian goes home." 

WATTNONDAGA. 

" Pale-faces, the Great Spirit smiles upon His chil- 
dren, and as He fashions them after himself, He 
would have them walk in His path. Many moons 
have come and gone since the Indian moved as you 



234 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

now move — since he held control of a living, mortal 
form. And as he then paddled the canoe over the 
waters the Great Spirit gave him, he read therein 
that a mightier people than his would in time tread 
his shores and sail over his waters. The Great Spirit 
taught him in the leaf, the sun, the moon, the waters, 
that in after time the inhabitants of earth should 
understand Him better — should comprehend His 
mighty works. * * * Waunondaga saw the 
Great Spirit in all things, and he knew that He 
loved the Indian; but soon Waunondaga stood be- 
side the mound where lay his parents ; he betrayed 
no fear, but took up his spear and wandered to other 
lands, for he heard the big intellects were come — 
that pale faces had sailed over the big waters to peo- 
ple his land with mightier braves. And at this time 
the Great Spirit sends the Indian to give strength to 
your medium, that in after times other spirits may 
come and find easy access — may build a fire here, 
and send the smoke up to the Great Spirit. 

Pale-faces, the words which come from your coun- 
cils shall in time penetrate all souls ; then shall error 
flee away, and the light of the great hunting-ground 
shall shine on earth, and there shall be no war. Years 
ago their arms were arms of hate, and when they struck 
there was death found, and in the faces of the multi- 
tude you might read folly where now you read wis- 
dom, for the Great Spirit is bringing his children 
nearer Himself. The tomahawks of by-gone days 
lie buried beneath the earth, and the canoes are no 
more. Mighty intellects have reared mighty wig- 
wams, and have covered. the waters with their fire 
canoes. Farewell, pale-faces. Waunondaga's mis- 
sion is done, and he goes hence." 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 235 

V. 

Many individuals, in view of the large number of 
messages which are yearly given through the medi- 
umship of Mrs. Conant — the wide diversity of the 
spirits controlling, and the (in many instances) dis- 
tant places of abode whither they desire their words 
conveyed — have been led in the past to address let- 
ters to the publishers of the Banner of Light, seeking 
information as to how many of such messages are 
recognized by friends yet in the flesh. Perhaps the 
same query may arise in the mind of the reader of 
this work. In reply, it is only necessary to refer 
to the numerous written acknowledgments of their 
truth — from parties in the majority of instances 
entire strangers to the medium or the publishers — 
which may be found scattered through the pages of 
the Banner from its first to the present volume. It 
is, of course, impossible in the limits of this book to 
give a tithe of these endorsements of the " letters 
of the dead," but, as in case of the messages just 
quoted, a certain number of the most important veri- 
fications will be inserted as means toward the giving 
of some conception of the reliability and conclusive- 
ness of the messages in general. 

In reading the communications from week to week 
issued in the Banner Message Department, the in- 
quirer into the accuracy of the phenomenon must 
bear in mind the obstacles surrounding the exhibi- 
tion of intelligence through a body foreign to the 
spirit, and often of a sex different from its earthly 
form while in the physical. The difficulty is clearly 



236 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

set forth by W. E. Channing, in an early number of 
Vol. II.: 

" Spirits of all classes return to earth to commune 
with mortals, and they sometimes find it exceedingly 
hard to control your mediums successfully, for there 
is ever an antagonistic power going out in the spirit 
world and the earth sphere, and the controlling spirit 
is first obliged to overcome that power ere he can 
manifest at all. And again, we are obliged to gov- 
ern the material, physical, animal nature of mediums, 
that it shall be ours, not theirs, for the time being. 
Mortals are poorly aware of the vast amount of power 
that is exercised over the medium in giving these 
simple, and often ungrammatical manifestations." 

The great advantage offered by the organism of 
Mrs. Conant as a channel of communication for 
spirits of all grades of intelligence, consists in her 
complete passivity to influences from without ; in 
other words, the mental friction consequent on in- 
fluencing the mediumistic machine is less in her case 
than in that of many others. With reference to her 
life work and this peculiarity of her mediumship, 
Hudson Tuttle, well known to the Spiritualist pub- 
lic as a deep thinker and able writer, thus bears 
testimony : 

" The Message Department of the Banner of Light 
has been sustained from the first issue of that journal 
through the mediumship of Mrs. J. H. Conant. We 
are aware that the literary merits and utility of those 
messages have been severely critised, but we believe 
always by those who have not comprehended their 
purpose. They are not to be judged by ordinary 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 237 

rules. They are the spontaneous expression of spirits 
who usually there find their first opportunity of com- 
municating with earth. If their diction was perfect, 
how soon would the critics carp at the incongruity ! 
Each speaks in his own language and relates his own 
story. That a medium can relate these experiences, 
filling one folio page of a journal like the Banner, 
week after week and year after year, and never re- 
peat, we consider, of itself, an insurmountable obsta- 
cle to any theory short of its spiritual origin. They 
are unique. The history of the world presents noth- 
ing like them, and were they bound in one huge vol- 
ume with their verifications, would form the most 
overwhelming evidence to be drawn from the realm 
of mental phenomena. 

Those who attend her circles have the evidence 
of their senses. She is a delicate, retiring lady, who 
shrinks from contact with the world. When she is 
controlled by the spirits, her manner and voice corre- 
spond to their character. She speaks in the soft 
modulations of childhood, and the harsh tones of 
rudest men ; in the feeble accents of age, and the 
coarse notes of sternest health. During the delivery 
of each message she is for the time the representa- 
tive of the spirit who is communicating, and her 
features correspond to the character controlling her. 

She is probably one of the finest illustrations of 
sensitiveness in the long list of mediums, and a nota- 
ble instance of the perfect control spirits may acquire 
over the physical organism when allowed freely to 
perfect their purposes." 

VI. 

As the first in the series of chosen verifications of the 
spirit messages given through Mrs. Conant, proof is 
presented concerning the communication purporting 
to come from " Harriet Sheldon, of Gaston, Alabama," 



238 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

which was published in the Banner of Light for May 
7th, 1857 : - 

HARRIET SHELDON". 

This spirit came with such a joyous smile upon her 
lips, that those present could not help remarking that 
she was particularly happy, or seemed to be so. 

" Oh, yes, I am always happy. Some years since 
I lived on earth, but not in this cold northern clime. 
You have many beautiful things, no doubt, but I 
should be happier to live where I used to live. You 
northern folks have strange looking houses, but I 
presume you are happy. I have a husband in the 
earth life, and I am anxious to commune with him, 
but he lives a long way off. Now will you send to 
him? My dear companion has married again, [1] it 
was my wish. I told him to take the lady, and have 
been continually trying to speak with her, and shall, 
in time. They have no good mediums where they 
dwell. I wish to ask my dear husband to sit alone a 
small portion of each day, and I will be with him and 
try to manifest. I want him to sit perhaps thirty or 
forty da} r s. Tell him to often speak of me to those 
he has around him, beneath him [2] ; he will under- 
stand this. Tell him to often sit under that little rose 
tree [3] — I shall be with him then, if he thinks of 
me — he will understand that also. 

My name is Harriet Sheldon. The name of him 
who was my companion is Israel Sheldon — he re- 
sides in Gaston, Alabama. Will you attend to me 
early? Then good day, sir." 

William Berry — who, then in the physical, was 
acting in the capacity of scribe at the circle — on his 
return from the seance, to the office, suggested that 
Luther Colby, his partner, should write to Alabama, 
making inquiries respecting the facts in the case. 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 239 

This was in the forenoon. In the afternoon of the 
same day a gentleman called at the Banner office, and 
said he wished two copies of the paper sent to a 
friend in Alabama. 

"Are you acquainted in that State? " asked Mr. 
Berry. 

■ He replied that he was to some extent, and sur- 
prised him (Mr. B.) by saying that while at dinner 
at his house two miles from the office, a spirit spoke 
through one of his family, who is a medium, and told 
him to go to the office of the Banner of Light, get 
two copies. of that week's issue, and send them to 
Mr. Sheldon, of Gaston, Ala. 

• Ten years after the publication of this message, 
to the surprise and gratification of Mr. Colby, he 
received new evidence of its truthfulness from a 
purely material standpoint. A stranger called upon 
him at the office, and inquired if a file of the Banner 
was kept, and on being informed in the affirmative, 
he suggested that should Mr. C. turn to No. 5, Vol. I., 
a spirit message from Harriet Sheldon, to I. Sheldon, 
Gaston, Ala., would be discovered. 

The bound volume containing the paper as dated 
was taken down, and the communication named 
found on the seventh page of the issue. The stran- 
ger requested that it be read to him, but previously 
asked : 

" Does any one present know me ? Did you ever 
see me before ? " 

Being answered in the negative, he continued : 

" My name is Sheldon, and that message came 
from my wife. You don't any of you know me ; but 
here is the evidence that I am the man I purport 



240 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

to be," — at the same time drawing from his coat 
pocket a bunch of letters, two of which on being 
examined exhibited the same name as given in the 
message. Mr. Colby then commenced reading the 
communication, as requested. When he came to 
that portion where Mrs. Sheldon spoke of her hus- 
band's second marriage [1] the visitor said the state- 
ment as printed was true, for he asked her on her 
death-bed if she should have any objections to his 
marrying again, provided he found a suitable com- 
panion ; and she answered in the negative. 

At the time the communication was given through 
the mediumship of Mrs. Conant, Mr. Sheldon said 
he was a slaveholder, which accounted for the spirit's 
remark : " Tell him to often speak of me to those he 
has around him, beneath him," [2] — meaning his 
slaves. 

The perusal was continued, until the words were 
reached: "Tell him to often sit under that little rose 
tree," etc., [3] when Mr. Sheldon said : 

"I had contiguous to my residence a peculiar rose 
tree. I do not think there was another of the kind 
in our vicinity. On pleasant summer evenings, my- 
self and wife were in the habit of sitting together 
beneath that tree, for it was tall enough for the pur- 
pose. You could have had no knowledge of this fact, 
neither of the private conversation I had with my 
wife, just previous to her death. I was no Spiritu- 
alist ; I had no belief in spirit communion ; yet here 
were facts I could not gainsay. I was compelled to 
believe that the spirit of my dead wife had indeed 
communicated ; and I have do doubt of it now. I 
have been a subscriber to your paper ever since." 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 241 

This voluntary testimony to the correctness of 
the message, coming direct, and nnsought for from 
the lips of the husband of the manifesting intelli- 
gence, must be truly considered as a remarkable 
verification of spirit communion. 

ELIZA MUCHMORE. 

May 6th, 1857, a spirit incarnated herself in the 
mortal form of Mrs. Conant, and informed those 
present at the circle that her name was Eliza Much- 
more ; and that she was anxious to commune with 

her former pastor, Elder J B. D . Not 

having any acquaintance with, or knowledge of the 
parties whose names were given, the publishers of the 
Banner were for a time at a loss as to what method 
to pursue to corroborate the message given by the 
stranger intelligence. But having faith in the reality 
of spirit communion, it finally occurred to Mr. Colby 

to write to Elder D , whose name was given by 

the manifestor, that if such a person really existed he 
might respond. Accordingly he wrote, addressing 
the letter to Manchester, N. H., — the spirit stating 
that the Elder would probably be reached by inquiry 
there. As this language implied an uncertainty, Mr. 
C. took the precaution to write upon the envelope, a 
request to the postmaster to forward the letter to the 
party to whom it was directed, in case he was not 
in Manchester. Had he not taken this course the 
letter in all probability would never have been re- 
ceived by the person to whom it was addressed, and 
consequently the important evidence sought by Mr. 
Colby would not have been obtained. It was for- 
warded as per desire to Lowell, where the gentleman 



242 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

resided, and in the course of a few days the following 
answer was received : 

" Lowell, May 13, 1857. 
To the Editors of the Banner of Light : 

Gentlemen : — I received a note from you respect- 
ing a person by the name of 'Eliza Muchmore.' I 
knew her well, at the time of m} r residence in Ports- 
mouth, N. H. She was a member of my church. 
She was often at my house, and frequently wished 
advice. My impression is, she is dead, and I think 
I attended her funeral and preached a sermon. I 
have looked over a small book, and find a note in 
relation to a funeral, in January, 1854, or about that 
time, which I am quite sure was hers. I was not 
living at Portsmouth at the time ; but at her dying 
request, I think I was sent for and went. My writ- 
ings, dates and facts are not sufficiently accurate to 
make positive oath to, as I keep no definite account 
of funerals, I attend so many ; for a number of years 
not less than one or two, and sometimes three per 
week. These are all the statements I can make with- 
out much more consideration on the subject. If it is 
necessary to the welfare of any living being, I will 
make further investigation concerning the dead. 
Yours very respectfully, 

J. B. D ." 

In his letter of inquiry to Mr. D , Mr. Colby 

was careful to omit that it had anything to do with 
modern spiritual manifestations, and made no men- 
tion that the party concerning whom the information 
was sought, had returned to communicate, etc. He 
simply asked several categorical questions — deriv- 
ing the points from the message which had been re- 
ceived — which were enough to excite the Elder's 
benevolence, as his letter indicated. 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 243 

The facts contained in the letter of corroboration 
were sufficient evidence to the publishers of the 
Banner of the reliability of the spirit message under 
consideration, and hence it was printed, as follows, 

together with Mr. D 's letter in the issue of that 

paper, dated June 18, 1857 : 

" ' Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord.' This 
was the text spoken from when my body lay be- 
neath the pulpit, cold and still. Thirteen years ago 
my spirit left its mortal tenement and soared to reach 
its mortal kindred in the spirit world. He who spake 
to the people in regard to my dissolution, is now 
preaching the gospel to the people of earth. He also 
spoke by inspiration , yes, he was inspired to teach. 
Now if he will, his medium powers may be exalted, 
even to the highest heaven ; for he is a medium of 
great power. Oh, how my spirit yearns to com- 
mune with him ; but he fails to understand the great 
truths that flow from his lips. Oh, how my spirit 
yearns, I say, to commune with him, — and not only 
with him, but many in the earth sphere. He sits 
not down to pen that he would give to the multitude. 
The spirit says to him, always go forth, stand before 
the people, open your mouth and we will fill it, and 
thus he speaketh to the people, and in vain he tries 
to solve the problem, as he asks, why am I so filled 
with wisdom when I yield to the higher influences ? 
and this simple child of earth who passed away years 
ago, comes back to tell him why. 

He speaks not of himself, but is a simple trumpet 
for the higher powers, and yet he knows it not. 
And the people wonder at the eloquence, and when 
they consider that it comes forth spontaneous from 
the soul, they wonder still more. But they see not 
the angel band that thrill and fill his soul with wis- 
dom ! They fail to understand the hidden mystery 
that enveils him like clouds that shed a halo around 



244 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

the sun. Oh, mortal, understand and worship thy 
God! 

My name when on earth was Eliza Muchmore ; he 

is called by the people Elder J B. = D . 

You may learn of him by inquiry at Manchester, 
N. H." 

During the very week in which were printed the 
message and accompanying letter, as undeniable 

proofs of spirit intercourse, Mr. D called at the 

office of the Banner of Light, acknowledged the 
receipt of Mr. Colby's note in person, and told him 
that if he were seeking evidence concerning, a will 
or property in connection with his queries regarding 
Eliza Muchmore, he would be happy to give any 
further information which might be in his power. 

Mr. C. replied that he (Mr. D ) was altogether 

mistaken in his surmises. On the contrary, he de- 
sired the information he had given him — and for 
which he cordially thanked him — for the sole pur- 
pose of testing the truth of Spiritualism, or in other 
words, to ascertain whether the messages given 
through the mediumship of Mrs. Conant were bona 
fide spiritual manifestations or unreliable and falla- 
cious ; and that the result had proven to him — so far, 
at least, as this special message was concerned — the 
fact of spirit-return beyond the possibility of doubt. 

The reverend gentleman hesitated some moments, 
as though a terrible conflict was going on in his mind, 
and replied by saying ; 

" Oh, is that all? I get all the revelations I want 
in the New Testament ! " 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 245 

VII. 

STEPHEN HANSCOM. 

"Being anxious to commune with my friends, I ap- 
proach you in order that I may convey a message to 
them. She who was my sister in the earth life, com- 
muned with you a short time since, and I have now 
learned the philosophy of controlling a medium. I 
left a wife, and a large family of children. Oh ! how 
my heart yearns toward them ! How I wish I could 
give something to benefit them ! I have one little 
boy on earth, who is sick, and a source of great 
anxiety to his mother. Physicians do not understand 
his case. The child does not need medicine, and 
should not take it. They who know better than I, 
tell me there is an obstruction in the liver, which 
can only be removed by the healing power through 
the hands of some medium, or through the power of 
some electrical machine. 

I have a father on earth, blind to this new truth, 
and I wish to give him light. I wish him to read 
the Bible by his own reason, not by what the minis- 
ters tell him, and see if he cannot prove Spiritualism 
true, without going anywhere else. I have a mother 
in the spheres — none on earth; my father has a 
companion, but I speak of my mother. 

I wish to tell my dear companion how often I am 
with her, and how much I try to do for her. I wish 
all the people who knew me on earth to know me 
now, as I am, and know that I am not dead. My 
name was Stephen Hanscom, and I lived in Elliot, 
Maine. My father bears the same name. I have a 
large circle of acquaintances in that vicinity." 

As a test case for the benefit of the skeptic doubt- 
ing the genuineness of the spirit communications con- 
tained in the Banner Message Department, the sub- 
joined letter was addressed to the father mentioned 



246 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

by the manifestor ; the questions contained in it be- 
ing based solely upon the statements of the intelli- 
gence— (all parties being strangers to the publishers 
of the paper) — and in no way indicating the spirit- 
ual origin of the information which prompted them : 

"Boston, May 9, 1857. 
Bear Sir : — Did you have a son named Stephen ? 
If so, is he dead ? Did he leave a wife and a large 
family of children ? Are either of said children sick ? 
We ask these several questions for good reasons, and 
you will much oblige us by transmitting an early 
answer. Yours, respectfully, 

L. Colby & Co. 
To Stephen Hanscom, Elliot, Me." 

In due time a reply was received from the gentle- 
man named, to the following purport : 

" Elliot, Me., May 19, 1857. 

Dem Sir: — I received your letter May 16, and 
will endeavor to answer your questions. I had a son 
named Stephen, and he is dead. He has been dead 
five years ; he left a wife and seven small children, 
the oldest fourteen years of age. The one next to 
the youngest was sick when he. [Stephen] died, and 
has been sick ever since, and cannot talk. 

I wish you to answer this. 

Stephen Hanscom." 

hiram blanchaed, east stotjghton. 
In No. 3, Vol. I., the subjoined message appears 
from the above named spirit : 

" There, is a time for all things. It is now twenty 
years since I left earth, and yet although I have been 
so long away from the body and the earth, I enjoy true 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 247 

happiness in communing witn mortals. My dear 
friend, I suppose you are well aware that there are 
many spirits who seek to deceive, and again I sup- 
pose you are well aware that many true and truthful 
spirits are often charged with falsehood. 

It is the duty of all faithful and true spirits who 
have the power of returning and communing — I say 
it is their duty to purify, if possible, those to whom 
they come. And the spirit, in the performance of 
his or her duty should not cease to return to do good, 
but should rather persevere and assist the bud of 
truth to bloom. 

You, my friend, cannot understand why I speak 
thus to you ; but there are those who will understand 
it. It is our duty to lead our earth friends away from 
temptation ; and when we cannot nobly perform that 
duty, we had better not return. It has ever been 
my pleasure, as well as my duty, to benefit those to 
whom I have communed. I have seen them stand- 
ing seemingly beside a gulf of ruin ; I have sought 
to lead them away from this gulf, and in so doing 
I have received not welcome hands and an open 
soul, but a discharge from affection's bowers ; but I 
fear not, I care not, so I am found in the way of duty. 
A word to those who are saying to themselves, we 
must be forgotten by our spirit friends, for we do not 
hear from them. 

We are with them quite as much as ever; but they 
must be willing to hear their faults and turn away 
from them, as well as to hear their virtues. * * * 

I have a companion on earth. To her I would 
say, gather up the flowers of peace that we contin- 
ually scatter in your pathway, and constantly look 
upward, for your home is there. 

I have brothers and sister. To them I would say 
be of good cheer, and when the last sands have run 
through the hour glass of mortal time, loving ones 
await your coming ; resist all evil, and cling to all 



248 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

good ; love ye one another for in so doing ye fulfill 
the great law of your master, Jesus. 

My name on earth was Hiram Blanchard. For 
references apply to Bradford Blanchard, New York 
City." 

In order to satisfy themselves of the verity of this 
letter from the other side of life, the publishers wrote 
as directed, and on April 5, received the following 
letter, embracing their own note of March 29 to 
Bradford Blanchard. Though it may seem to some 
a causeless repetition, yet to present the matter in a 
stronger light to the mind of the skeptical, attention 
is again called to the fact that the spirit communi- 
cated at the Banner circle and through its medium 
unexpectedly, and that the parties to whom he re- 
ferred in New York or elsewhere, were entirely un- 
known either to Mrs. Conant, Luther Colby & Co., 
or any of the employes or attaches of the firm. Even 
at that early day in the history of the Message De- 
partment, the publishers are found holding the fol- 
lowing language : 

" Spirits, who while on earth were entire strangers 
to us, daily communicate through our medium, that 
they may thereby reach their dear relatives and 
friends through the columns of this paper. We have 
hundreds of similar tests on file, which we intend to 
print as rapidly as our space will permit : 

4 East Stottghton, Mass. April 4, 1857. 
L. Colby & Co. — Gents: I have received from 
a brother, postmarked New York, April 2, the fol- 
lowing note, with a request that I should answer the 
same : 

"Boston, March 29, 1857. 
Bradford Blanchard, Esq. — Dear Sir: We 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 249 

have a communication from Hiram Blanchard, (a 
spirit) who says he died twenty years ago, and has 
aged parents yet living. He also says he has left a 
wife. If you can give us any information uj)on the 
subject, we shall feel obliged. If true, it will be a 
great test. An early answer is solicited. 
Yours respectfully, 
L. Colby & Co., 17 Washington St." 

You say you have a communication from Hiram 
Blanchard, (a spirit.) We are anxious to know 
what that communication may be. It is true that 
we had a brother by that name who passed to the 
spirit world in 1837. 

It is also true he has aged parents now living in 
this place ; and also true that he left a wife, now 
Mrs. Belcher, of Randolph, Mass. 

But I am at a loss to discover how, and in what 
manner you obtained these facts. Were you present 
when the spirit communicated ? Did the spirit in- 
form you who to write to in order to ascertain the 
truthfulness of it ? Please inform us, and oblige one 
who is in pursuit of truth. N. Blanchard.' " 

VIII. 

"IS THERE ANY GOOD IN SPIRITUALISM?" 

The above is the heading of an article which ap- 
peared editorially in the columns of the Banner of 
Light for July 23, 1857, (from the pen of William 
Berry,) and which is here republished, that the 
lessons contained therein may be again placed on 
record in answer to the snarling query cui bono? 
so often applied to communion with the invisibles. 
It would seem that the practical verification of this 
spirit's message presents an insuperable argument to 
the mind of the investigator, in favor of the surety 



250 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

of spirit presence, and the power of the arisen ones 
to aid those who are yet children of earth : 

" On Tuesday, July 7; while we were at our usual 
sitting with Mrs. Conant, we received the following 
communication : 

' After a lapse of years must I return to benefit 
mankind? Must I come back to deal out charity to 
my kindred ? Are all Priests and Levites passing on 
the other side ? Is there no Samaritan among you ? 
Near one hundred and fifty years have rolled back 
into the past since I left earth. Justice demands 
that I return to benefit those my earthly eyes never 
beheld ; a long line of kindred have been clustering 
around a little few "here in the earth life, that they 
may benefit them, and I alone, of all the kindred am 
able to speak. Near twenty days ago I was called to 
earth to visit my kindred, and I found those called 
mortals dwelling in poverty; without the comforts 
by which mortals are wont to make themselves 
happy. Seeing their condition, understanding their 
souls, I draw nigh to you that I may make manifest 
their situation. 

I am told by kindred spirits that mortals are con- 
tinually asking, why do not spirits view our necessi- 
ties, and aid us withal ? We now ask mortals why 
the heavens above are not rent in twain at their bid- 
ding ? Why does not the Almighty cast aside his 
laws, and become in subjection to mortals? All 
spirits who are laboring for the good of mankind, the 
redemption of the world, are seeking, by every oppor- 
tunity, to benefit them in their pecuniary and spirit- 
ual means, and no door will be untried. And no 
matter how hard the hearts of men may be ; they are 
not so hard but the oil of love will soften them, and 
we may enter therein, making the waste to blossom, 
and the darkness to shine. 

When poverty, like a sable clad messenger of de- 
spair, enters the earthly home, behold ! joy is driven 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 251 

afar off, and mortals are led to cry out, where is our 
God, that he doth not interfere to relieve us ? Cease 
your murmurings, oh ye inhabitants of earth, and 
know that the Lord your God is able to deliver, and, 
no matter how gross the surroundings, spirit power 
will in time penetrate it, and fill your souls with 
purity and love. 

My name was Melchisedec Adams, and if you will 
permit me to carry your medium in spirit a short dis- 
tance, I will give you the locality of those I have 
come to benefit. ' 

After a lapse of a few seconds, the medium, in a 
clairvoyant state, gave the following description of 
the locality to which the spirit desired to carry her: 

4 1 am now in somebody's house. There seems to 
be a lady and gentleman here. Everything looks 
neat, but I guess they are poor. They are Ameri- 
cans. The lady does not look well. There is trouble 
here — they can't get work to do. 

But oh, there are so many spirits here. The 
people have been praying, and, in answer to their 
prayers, spirits have been sent to them. 

The spirit wishes me to go outside, so that I may 
know the street. It is Endicott Street. There are 
red houses near, and a store close by. You must 
find them, and prove him true. I should know this 
place again.' 

With this the medium was restored to her normal 
condition, and said that she remembered the whole 
scene. It seemed stamped upon her like a vivid 
dream, and she knew she should remember the room 
she had been in, should she see it again. 

We started in search of the place, in order to test 
our spirit friend, and to see what could be done for 
the family. 

We passed through the upper part of the street 
without any success. We did not expect any there 
from some cause. Our attention seemed to be 
directed to the part of the street toward the water 



252 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

very strongly. Accordingly, we went on, and looked 
into all the little shops on our way, but had no 
inclination to enter any of them, until we arrived 
at a grocery store at the further extremity of 
the street. This seemed to us to be the place to 
make inquiry, and we did so. Some would term it 
a strange coincidence which directed our steps to the 
store just at the time the lady we were in search of 
was there. Another strange incident is, that (as 
she of her own accord remarked) she had not been 
in that store before for some months, as she did not 
trade there. 

We found things as represented by the spirit. The 
man was in the last stage of consumption ; the lady 
nearly worn out from tending her husband. 

In the afternoon, taking with her a friend of ours, 
who is one of the Lord's stewards, and gladly uses 
the talent God has given him for the relief of his 
brethren, Mrs. Conant called, and was shown into a 
lower room. She still thought she could remember 
the room the spirit showed her, but she did not 
recognize this, though she did the lady. The room 
up stairs. in which the sick man lay, she did recog- 
nize, even to .the pictures. There was but one alter- 
ation, and that was, she did not see the sick man 
there in the morning vision. This was a complete 
test, for, when we called a few minutes after the 
sitting which directed our steps to the house, the 
invalid was not in that room, but in one which led 
from it. 

Soon after taking a seat beside the bed, Mrs. C. 
was entranced, and spoke nearly as follows : 

4 Friends, sufficient for the clay is the good or 
the evil thereof. We have called } t ou here. You 
would know for what. It is that you may minis- 
ter to the wants of our brother who is passing away 
from you. to us. He is your brother, and he needs 
your help to render the remainder of his days among 
you comfortable, and you have plenty, while he 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 253 

needs. It is your duty, and will no doubt be your 
pleasure, to relieve his necessities. This is all we 
have to say, particularly as our brother is very much 
exhausted.' 

Now, here lay a man who was about to pass away 
to an undiscovered country — to him. He had, per- 
haps, often thought that God and the angels had for- 
gotten him. But not so ; God had heard his prayer, 
and had permitted an angel band to gather around 
him. He had sent his angels to us, who were utter 
strangers to the sick man and his family, knowing not 
of the existence of such people, and they bade us to 
seek out their earthly kindred, and do our duty. 

Were this recorded in the Bible, that good book, 
and record of spirit manifestation, this ' Thus saith 
the Lord ' would be pointed at by the church, as 
proof of the power, wisdom and love of God for 
his creatures. Will they rob him of the glory of this 
proof of his omnipresence and kindness now? Will 
the skeptical world insult him by crying delusion, 
because this happened in 1857 ? Will they tell us 
he is less powerful now than in the earlier stages of 
the world, and takes no thought of the sparrows now? 

What sweet assurance this visit of the angels must 
be to him who is passing on to them, of immortality, 
and of the love of God for all ! Will it not give him 
faith to cross the stream so black and dark to some, 
without fear ? Will the waters be so gloomy to him ? 

Ah, no ! Death is the placid, crystal lake, over 
whose sweet waters the angels of the Lord bear the 
spirit, freed from earth, to its happy home, where 
all is love, purity and peace to him who has improved 
the talent given him. 

And does it not show him, that if the angels can 
return, in answer to his prayers, to smooth his pas- 
sage through the tomb to life immortal, that they 
will also care for his companion ? And will not his 
God permit him to make one of the band who shall 
cheer her days on earth ? " 



254 A BIOGRAPHY OF 



MEHITABLE LOTHROP. 

The following message, printed in the Banner of 
Light for Sept. 24, 1857, was joyfully recognized by 
the daughter mentioned in it, as may be seen by ref- 
erence to the accompanying letter, the publishers 
being privileged to state that any one desirous of 
learning more concerning this communication and 
its endorser, could address Mrs. Gillett, at 76 Wal- 
tham Street, Boston, Mass. : 

44 Over forty years ago I left earth ; and now, after 
a lapse of years, I return, because called unto by. 
those I leave still in the earth life. 

My spirit yearns to guide, to bless them, and to 
lift from their shoulders the burden I find weighing 
so heavily there. And yet I find spots of sunshine 
also, like so many gems lighting up the gloom of the 
soul. And I must say to those dear ones, have pa- 
tience and ho}3e, for those bright spots shall yet make 
the darkness no longer gloomy. They shall wipe out 
the stain of sin, and give new life to that which has 
been dead for years. 

When I passed from earth, I beheld one, an infant, 
and I said, 4 Oh, Father, into thy hands I commend 
this child ; gather me to thyself, but oh, scatter peace 
about its path, which shall send light wherever it may 
chance to dwell.' 

Time has rolled on, and that child is standing upon 
the hill of life, as it were between two spheres, wait- 
ing to find some new joy, some new hope to bind her 
still to earth. 

But I see that child dwelling on earth a much 
longer time than she anticipated, and I find joy clus- 
tering around her, bearing her soul heavenward. 
Then, in view of the future, let her have patience, 
and hope in the present also. And to others dear to 
me I come to give light and hope, for they have long 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 255 

been without a ray of sunshine to penetrate their fu- 
ture. Tell them I live — live to bless and to greet 
them on their journey to the abodes of joy. 

A mother's love, however high in the spheres it 
may have been transplanted, still returns to earth, 
and entwines about the object of her love — and for 
what? To draw it nearer herself and the Great 
Creator of her child. 

The ancient speaks of the pitcher being broken at 
the fountain — of the silver chord being loosed. Can 
that be love ? No ! for the pitcher of love cannot be 
broken — the chord cannot be loosed. But it may be 
drawn out — one portion nearer God, the other drawn 
to earth. Oh, tell my dear ones that I am ever with 
them in love, and that the trials they endure on earth 
are but bright gems which shall light their passage 
through the realms, of joy. Tell them, then, to hope 
on, and we shall ever continue to draw them upward 
in aspiration to ourselves. 

From Mehitable Lothrop — given by request." 

"Messrs. Editors : — The test in connection with this 
communication is this : I was seeking earnestly for 
evidence of the truth of Spiritualism ; I earnestly de- 
sired God to give me that proof through the Banner 
of Light by a communication from my mother. The 
prayer was offered up in secret to God, and I received 
the answer openly through the mediumship of Mrs. 
Conant in the Banner of Light. 

From my early childhood I had had an impression 
that I should pass away from earth while young. I 
do not know what gave me that impression, only 
that my mother died young — at twenty — and I 
thought I should die about the same age. It never 
made me unhappy. After that time of my life had 
passed I never thought any more about it ; so it was 
not anything taken from my mind. Mrs. Conant 
was entirely unacquainted with everything connected 
with the whole transaction. I think the impression 



256 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

was made upon my brain for that very purpose for a 
test, for my mother passed away when I was only a 
few days old. Had I not had that impression, I can- 
not see how she could have given me a test. I asked 
for proof of the truth of Spiritualism I have never 
doubted the return of spirits, under favorable condi- 
tions, since. Mrs. H. B. Gillett." 

IX. 

The preceding selections have been made from the 
first year of the Banner's existence, but scattered 
through its succeeding volumes are to be found mul- 
titudinous epistles from correspondents acknowledg- 
ing the reliability and correctness of various messages, 
of which no mention can be made without far exceed- 
ing the proposed limits of this book. The verifica- 
tions to be found in after pages are chosen for their 
directness, and arranged without regard to chronology. 
They have all appeared from time to time in the 
Banner of Light. 

OLIVER BACON. 

This message from a spirit giving the name of 
Oliver Bacon, a native of Woburn, Mass., during 
earth life, is thus referred to by one who is well 
known as an able worker in the field of reform : 

"Boston, July 12, 1858. 
Messrs. Editors : — Having known Capt. Oliver 
Bacon, of Woburn, — who was quite a remarkable 
man in his way — I would briefly say that the com- 
munication which appeared in the Banner of July 3, 
was to my mind eminently characteristic of him, in 
the general tenor and compass, in matter and in 
spirit. I have frequently heard him, in friendly con- 
versation, make use of precisely the same peculiar 



MRS. J. H. CON ANT. 257 

expressions and comparisons as are found in the com- 
munication. Indeed, the whole message gives every 
evidence of being his own — an emanation from him. 
Yours truly, 

George A. Bacon." 

EULALIA. 

This spirit — heretofore mentioned in the selec- 
tions taken from the diary of Dr. Pike — first mani- 
fested through Mrs. Conant, July 9, 1858. At the 
close of speaking, she (the influence) said : 

"My husband will know me by this name — it is 
not necessary to give you any other. Please request 
him to write you in reference to this, that you may 
know me in future. My husband publishes a paper 
in California." 

This part of the communication was not published 
with the rest, it being apparently of a private nature, 
but a request was inserted at the end of the printed 
message, that any party knowing to the facts con- 
tained in it, would reply ; in consequence of which 
this answer was returned by her husband : 

" Calaveras Chronicle Office, ) 
Mokelumne Hill, Cal., Oct. 3, 1858. ] 
Messrs. Colby, Berry $• Co. — In your paper of 
Sept. 4 — the Banner of Light — I recognize a com- 
munication addressed to me from 4 Eulalia,' my late 
wife. I have no doubt of its authenticity, having 
communicated with her personally before, but for a 
long time have not been able to receive a communi- 
cation until I received this through your paper. I 
understand most of it, but see no propriety in answer- 
ing it more than as above. * * * ■ 

I remain very respectfully yours, 

Jno. Shannon." 



258 A BIOGRAPHY OF 



EDWARD COBB. 

"My name was, and still is, Edward Cobb. I am a 
native of Rockland, Me. I was drowned off Cape 
Ann. Was on board the schooner ' Laura Francis.' 
She foundered at sea. Will you tell my friends that 
I am quite happy ? Have been dead about two 
months. * * * That was a hard time." * * * 

Upon the publication of this message, the follow- 
ing convincing endorsement of "it was received from 
a gentleman, entirely unknown to the medium or the 
publishers : 

"Rockland, Me., Sept. 23, 1858. 

Messrs. Editors: — I see in the last number of 
your paper (No. 25, Vol. Ill,) a communication pur- 
porting to be given through a spiritual medium, by 
the spirit of Edward Cobb, formerly of this city. 

Mr. Cobb, a young man about twenty years old, 
son of Capt. Edward Cobb (formerly of this place, 
now residing in Kansas) left Salem on the 28d of 
June last, in the schooner ' Laura Francis,' Capt. Bul- 
lock, for Rockland. The schooner was capsized the 
same night near Cape Ann. The Captain, together 
with Mr. Cobb and another man, succeeded in getting 
into the boat, but the two latter perished before 
morning, so that the Captain was the only one saved 
out of the ship's company, which consisted of four 
people. Yours truly, 

Charles W. Snow." 

SARAH J. SARGENT. 

"My dear Son: — They who earnestly desire the 
best gifts, shall receive them in due time. There- 
fore, let your desire be like a perpetual fire burning 
upon the altar of truth, and you shall not be disap- 
pointed. Although you may get weary with watch- 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 259 

ing, and perhaps may lie down to rest ere the mes- 
senger comes with glad tidings of great joy, yet he 
comes. The sweet little child you love so well, 
promises fair to be a good instrument in spirit hands. 
Care for him well, and offer him upon the altar of 
Truth only, and the offer will find acceptance with 
your God. Be patient, my dear son, and bear well 
the sorrows of life, for they will all work out for you, 
a kingdom of happiness in spirit life. Love to all. 
Your spirit mother, 

Sarah J. Sargent." 

To. these loving words from beyond the tomb, the 
son earnestly responds : 

" The spirit communication with the signature of 
Sarah J. Sargent, published in the Banner of April 
16, 1859, I recognize, and believe to have been dictated 
by the spirit of my mother. It was given in response 
to a mental request that she should visit your medium 
in Boston, and communicate to me some words of 
cheer and a mother's counsel. And truly was my 
prayer heard, and beautifully answered in that com- 
munication, also affording me a happy test. Oh, 
how sweet are the comforts of this soul-inspiring 
faith ! Would that all could be brought into a knowl- 
edge of its truth. . C. E. Sargent." 

At a circle held by Mrs. Conant, Nov. 9, 1859, a 
message was given by a spirit calling himself James 
D. Farnsworth, who said he had come at the request 
of outside parties. The communication was at once 
acknowledged to be correct by James D. Farnsworth 
Lyons, who wrote — under date of West Randolph, 
Mass, Dec. 26, 1859, — a lengthy letter, from which 
the annexed extracts are made : 

"Messrs. Editors : — I noticed in the Banner of Dec. 
24, a communication purporting to be from James D. 



260 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

Farnsworth, of spirit life ; also a request to those 
who might recognize this spirit intelligence to re- 
spond to its truth, if they could do so without injury 
to themselves. I feel myself bound to speak the 
truth at all times, in order to carry out the duty 
which God has assigned me, and can speak the truth 
without injury to myself, and feel the assurance that 
all will be able to do the same in their proper time 
and season, and stand in fear of themselves and not 
man. What must be the condition of that man who 
knows the truth, and yet will bend to his neighbor 
and become his slave — mentally saying to his master, 
' What would you that I should say? ' Such a man 
lacks manhood and everything that constitutes a 
man ; he has eradicated from his nature that bright- 
est jewel that God has given, that makes him in 
advance of the brute, and therefore becomes the 
same. 

This spirit proves to be a spirit of truth. I was 
personally acquainted with him in his earth life ; in 
my infancy he gave me my name, (as you see I bear 
his name) and in my younger years I often listened 
to his teachings, as he was an Orthodox divine, 
Since he has passed to spirit life, he has often visited 
me, and has controlled my organism, as I am suscep- 
tible to spirit influence. 

We have had communications from him in various 
ways, and have requested him to communicate through 
the columns of your Banner, and he has responded to 
the same." 



MBS. J. H. CONANT. 2G1 



X. 

The subjoined tribute to the worth of the Message 
Department was recently paid by James M. Peebles, 
whose name is known wherever Spiritualism is spoken 
of, as a synonym for honesty of purpose and fearless 
devotion to truth : 

" Traveling extensively, and that by an impulse 
almost irresistible, it is not an uncommon thing to 
hear of the messages verified, published on the sixth 
page of the Banner of Light. Seldom do we notice 
them, however, from a lack of time. Pressed with 
labor, it is often difficult to decide as to the most im- 
portant work for the hour. 

Recently, in Helena, Ark., we met Mr. H. Carnes, 
the personal friend of Gen. T. C. Hindman, who was 
assassinated in 1868. The General had heard of and 
thought upon the subject of spirit communion, and 
said to this Mr. Carnes, whom he considered a little 
unsettled upon the subject, that he really wanted to 
know more of the phenomenon, denominated Spirit- 
ualism. Passing suddenly, by violence, into the 
world of spirits, he says, 4 1 promised a friend that I 
would investigate sometime from a Yankee stand- 
point and return, if possible.' Mr. Carnes, of Helena, 
was this friend referred to. And this gentleman in- 
formed us that, with the exception of a 4 single word,' 
(the conversation all) the communication was literal- 
ly correct and unmistakably his. The test was con- 
clusive. Another gentleman, standing by, verified 
the statement of Mr. Carnes, adding, ' I knew Gen. 
Hindman personally, financially and politically. The 
Banner message sounded just like him.' Thousands 
of these messages are doubtless recognized by friends 
that are never reported back to Boston — a rank in- 
justice ! As the Banner of Light is not based upon 
the selfish plan of helping those who help it, but 



262 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

aims to build up the great principles of the spiritual 
philosophy, and as it is the only Spiritualist journal 
which has a Message Department set apart for the 
spirit world, all lecturers, all media, and all interested 
in the liberal principles of the age, should make it a 
point to report these message verifications." 

BRIG. GEN. GEORGE B. BOOMER. 

This message printed in the Banner of Light for 
Sept. 26, 1868, was at once verified by O. B. Payne, 
M. D., who wrote from Eldorado, Mo., that he had 
read with great pleasure the communication from the 
General ; that he had known him well as Colonel of 
the 26th Missouri Infantry Volunteers (the Doctor 
being stationed for two years at Division Headquar- 
ters as Medical Director) and that no officer could 
have been more popular than he was throughout the 
Division of which his regiment formed a part. He 
was a fine scholar, a genial companion, a brilliant 
soldier, and an incorruptible patriot. For his gal- 
lant conduct as senior Colonel in command of a 
Brigade, he received, upon recommendation of Gen. 
Grant, the appointment of Brigadier General, the 
commission for which, however, did not reach camp 
till after his death in action before Vicksburg, May 
22, 1862. The Doctor further says : 

" 1 was not only well acquainted with the General 
personally, but also with his style of language in con- 
versation, and had a good opportunity to become 
conversant with his mode of expressing his thoughts 
with the pen ; and I must say that this communica- 
tion to your circle is fully characteristic of the man. 
It seems to me that this is so peculiarly the fact, that 
his friends in Worcester, Mass., as well as others of 
the army cannot fail to recognize him through it." 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 263 



XL 

HEBER C. KIMBALL. 

u Before my death I had the pleasure of perusing 
quite a number of your journals, the Banner of 
Light; and although I could not sympathise with 
you in all your views, }^et I was inclined to believe 
that the spirit might be able to return and communi- 
cate with those it had left in the body after death. 
And on several occasions I found myself thinking, 
whenever I did pass on, if your philosophy were true 
I would visit you, predicating the belief that I could, 
of course, upon the testimony of those who do return. 
If others could, I saw no reason why I might not be 
able to. Inasmuch as you claim a free platform and 
free speech here, I had no fear of being excluded. 

I am well aware that my name, to those who do 
not believe as I did, is not without stain. I am well 
aware, that the practice of my faith would be a crime 
to you, but, in my spiritual state, I am also well 
aware that the real sin may not lie wholly at my 
door — at the door of those who believe as I did — 
but that it may be found with those who profess a 
different faith. I said, ' If it be true that spirits can 
return after death, I will come.' It is true, but the 
one half has not been told. 'If I come,' I said, 'I 
will tell you of the faith of Mormonism, whether I 
still believe it to be a holy faith, or whether I have 
changed my views.' I have to say that in many 
points I have changed ; on some I remain the same. 
I have learned that every soul lives in a sphere en- 
tirely its own. I have also learned that no two souls 
can, by any possibility, worship the same God. This 
may seem strange, but I believe it is true. Now, if 
my God tells me that a certain course of action is the 
very best I could pursue, I should do wrong to fol- 
low in any other way. What a man or woman hon- 
estly and truly believes to be right, is to them right. 
If they have doubts, then it is quite another thing. 



264 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

I am not here to state wherein I have changed my 
views ; I propose to do so at another time and in 
another place. 

There was much dissatisfaction felt in our church 
with regard to its durability during the last few years 
of my life. Was it to stand or fall ? No one could 
answer the question. By some mysterious power the 
question seemed to have gained admittance to the 
church ; but none could answer it. From all I have 
been able to learn during my short sojourn in the 
spirit world, I have to inform my friends on earth 
that it must fall. It has well-nigh performed its mis- 
sion — lived its earth life. It must change, must 
go down in the valley, to rise upon the mount of 
something better, having parted with its dross — 
gained something of a purer life, and a better under- 
standing of what God desires of his children on earth. 

Mr. Chairman, your spiritual work is indeed a no- 
ble one, standing, as you do, between the two worlds, 
ministering to the needs of all classes, the intelli- 
gent and the ignorant, the good and the bad, leading 
up the benighted ones, and assisting all who need 
assistance. It is a glorious mission, and I trust you 
are sensibly impressed with regard to its holiness. 
You understand it to be God's work, and, because it 
is, much will be expected at your hands. 

To those whom I might have wronged on earth I 
would send out a prayer for forgiveness. If, in 
thought or word or deed, I have infringed upon the 
rights of any — and I am sure 1 have — I trust I shall 
not rest till I have paid the debt ; till I have obtained 
forgiveness — that which comes from my own soul. 
Nothing less can satisfy. I am Heber C. Kimball.'' 

This message was given through Mrs. Conant 
September 29, 1868, by one of the leading lights of 
the Mormon church, who passed on, in the full 
strength of that faith. It is indeed a marked test of 
individual existence after physical change, that he 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 265 

should return hinting at, and answering questions 
which had been asked in that church, of which the 
publishers of the Banner could not have possessed 
the slightest knowledge. The subjoined extract from 
a private letter (on hie at the Banner office) written 
Feb. 14, 1869, by Mrs. E. D. Smith, of Wheatland, 
Yuba Co., Cal., shows that the above communication 
fell under notice .of at least one person who did not 
fear to acknowledge its truth : 

" I feel like speaking of a message published in 
the Banner of Light for Dec. 26, 1868, given by the 
spirit of Heber C. Kimball, one of the heads of the 
Mormon church. A friend of mine, living here, who 
was a Mormon for many years, and an intimate friend 
of the Kimball family, (but who is now a believer in 
our beautiful philosophy) wishes me to write that 
the message is charactistic of the man whose name it 
bears ; owing to many conversations with him, she 
recognizes its style, and is highly gratified to hear 
from him. His reply to questions which she knew 
were proposed in the church and by his friends, is 
to her a strong proof of his identity." 

CHARLES GOODYEAR. 

" It is not lonsf since I became a dweller in the 
spiritual world. But I 've been there long enough to 
look round, and consider my own capabilities pretty 
well. 

My life was a struggle here on the earth, and I 
verily believe that- struggle has been lengthened out 
on to the spirit side. I do n't care to come back here 
and find fault with the doings of any person or per- 
sons on the earth, but I really can't see why some 
things should be just as they are. 

I was Charles Goodyear. I labored for years to 
perfect a certain invention to keep your feet dry and 



266 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

your body entire, to furnish you with ten thousand 
little articles of comfort, that I thought could be fur- 
nished cheaper, and perhaps better, than in any other 
way. 

I spent many a sleepless night, and went many a 
day without food to satisfy the cravings of a good 
appetite, because, forsooth, I had n't a dime to buy 
anything with. It seemed to me that I was obliged 
to labor in that direction ; although my friends said I 
was insane, was a fool to expend time and money on 
so useless a thing, still I was absolutely compelled 
to spend the greater portion of my earthly life delving 
into the whys and wherefores of this concern. 

I conceived the idea that India rubber could be 
made a most useful agent to mankind. That the 
idea was a true one, I think I proved to the satisfac- 
tion of all parties. Some of my friends would come 
to me with ideas like this : 4 Goodyear, you may 
spend a life-time upon that invention without real- 
izing anything. It's a wild scheme. You'd better 
give it up." Sometimes I thought I would abandon 
it ; then again the impulse would come upon me so 
strong that I would again toil on. 

Well, just as I was about to receive the fruits of 
my labor, I found I had expended all my vitality for 
naught, for death soon removed me from my family. 
Now they are in want. After I have spent years in 
perfecting an invention that is going to be of great 
use to those very persons who discouraged my labors, 
why, I have got the consolation of knowing that my 
family are in want ; yes, while others are reaping a 
rich reward from nxy labors. Now this may be right, 
but I can 't understand it to be so. I know it has 
been said by a good old mind, that the inventor is 
always poor, and somebody else gets the benefit of 
his labors. Well, if I haven't proved the truth of 
that remark, surely no man ever will. 

I thought if there was any chance of coming back- 
here and pleading for my family, I ought to do it. 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 267 

Now I'd say to all those people that are growing rich 
on account of my invention, if they'll only give the 
smallest mite to the inventor's family, I think I shall 
become happy, and reconciled to my new condition. 

Now there are some who profess to believe in this 
glorious philosophy of the spirit's return, and I should 
like to see something more than a belief in Spiritual- 
ism, upon the part of such individuals. I should like 
to see them, too, doing justice to Charles Goodyear's 
family, and then he'll be better off. Good-day, sir." 

The following letter of verification (as well as the 
message above) eloquently depicts the thorny path 
which, all who benefit mankind must tread — the 
Calvary which awaits each Saviour who would lead 
the race to new truth, whether it be of a material or 
spiritual nature. The endorsement of Mr. Good- 
year's message, by our correspondent — a lady resid- 
ing in Medford, Mass., (whose name and letter are 
now on file at the Banner office,) is unequivocal. 

.' ' Editors Banner of Light : — In the Banner of S ept. 
9, 1865, there is a message from Charles Goodyear. 
It was the lot of the writer to be acquainted with 
Mr. Goodyear and his conditions, for several years, 
dating from the summer of 1836 or '37, and truly they 
were years of trial, poverty, and suffering, for him- 
self and family ; in his message half is not told. 

The New York Ledger, in an article on Mr. Good- 
year from the pen of James Parton, says : 

4 He [Goodyear] struggled on for five years in 
debt, with a family, and exposed to the derision or 
reproach of his friends. Several times he was in 
the debtors' prison. He sold his effects, he pawned 
his trinkets, he borrowed from his acquaintances, he 
reduced himself and his young family to the severest 
straits. Always supposing himself to be on the 



268 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

point of success, he thought the quickest way to get 
his family out of misery was, to stick to India rubber. 

In the fifth year of his investigations, a glorious 
success rewarded him. He made one of the simplest 
and yet one of the most useful discoveries, which 
has ever been made in the United States. Over- 
joyed with his success, he thought his troubles were 
over. Never was a poor inventor more mistaken. 
He was thought to be India rubber mad. Two years 
passed, after he had made the discovery, before he 
could get any one to believe him. During that 
period, he endured everything that a man can endure 
and live. Very often in the coldest day of a New 
England winter, he had neither food nor fire. Once 
he had a dead child in the house, and had not the 
means with which to bury it. * * * 

We are informed by a man engaged in the busi- 
ness, that a single firm in the city of New York, sells 
two million dollars' worth of India rubber belting and 
engine packing every year. During the civil Avar 
more than a million rubber blankets were supplied 
to the armies. 

Charles Good} T ear, the inventor, died in the sixty- 
first } r ear of his age. He literally wore out his con- 
stitution in his zeal for developing his discovery. 
Though he had been for many years a sufferer from 
disease, his death was somewhat sudden and unex- 
pected. Almost to his last day, he was employed in 
the work to which his life was devoted. It is not 
without a pang that we record, that after all his toils 
and successes he died insolvent, leaving his devoted 
and gifted wife, the faithful helpmeet and solace of 
his later years, and a family of six children, the 
youngest but two months old, without provision. 
Such is but the common fate of inventors. That 
very zeal and enthusiasm, which alone enables them 
to carry out their ideas, deprives them of the sub- 
stantial reward which other men win by using their 
discoveries.' 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 269 

This much from the New York Ledger. There is 
one fact connected with this singular man's life 
worthy of notice, and which in justice to his memory 
ought to be made public ; it is this : in the midst of 
his trials, he was continually beset on every side with 
the din, 4 Pay me that thou owest,' and he would 
answer, ' be patient ; when I succeed I will pay every 
cent.' Many years afterward, he redeemed his word, 
by paying, so far as he had the means, all who pre- 
sented their claims. So far as my knowledge ex- 
tended, he was never accused of any dishonorable 
acts or intentions, but was looked upon as being 
deluded by ' vain imaginings,' and I confess to 
being one of the many who thought him partially 
insane, therefore the more willingly make this rec- 
ord, earnestly desiring it may in some way benefit 
his family." 

XII. 

Three messages being printed as given at the 
seances by spirits purporting to have been Massachu- 
setts soldiers who passed on in the late civil war, a 
skeptical correspondent, in a manner at once clear 
and emphatic, demanded categorically of the publish- 
ers if they were reliable. Having no knowledge of 
the facts in the case, recourse was had by the pub- 
lish ers to the State records in the office of Adjutant 
General Cunningham, David Wilder, of Boston, act- 
ing as their agent — and the entries given below were 
found, completely disarming the doubter and proving 
the verity of the statements of the invisibles as to 
name, place of death, etc., etc. : 

" Patrick Farrell, Bolton, Co. G, 25th Mass. 
Vols., died at Newport News, Aug. 14, 1864; aged 
33 years." 



270 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

"Robert Mc'Culloch, Chelsea, carpenter, Co. C, 
35th Reg. Mass. Vols. ; killed by falling of a tree, 
Oct. 1, 18G4." 

"Herbert D. Beckwtth, Fitchburg, Co. F, 57th 
Reg. Mass. Vols. ; died at Petersburg, Va., Jan. 18, 
1865, 22 years old." 

JOSEPH TEAT ON. 

" It is but a few months since I was in possession 
of my own body, and could deal with the things of 
this world better than I can now. 

I had completed my arrangements in Southern 
Texas, and was just starting for home — my home in 
Maine — when I was overtaken by the yellow fever, 
[1] and in a few hours passed on. My wife had 
passed on before me, [2] and at my death our little 
ones [3] were left in that country of disease and 
death, and orphaned. 

I am somewhat disturbed by the intense anxiety 
that seems to permeate the minds of my aged pa- 
rente, and my brothers and sisters with regard to 
the disposition of the children, and the settle- 
ment of what little property I left. It is that 
which brings me here. I want to say that I have 
been informed — and truthfully no doubt — that after 
leaving this place, I shall be enabled to visit some 
members of my family, and impress upon them the 
best course to be taken with regard to the children. 
I am also informed that I shall be able to aid in rear- 
ing them, to watch over them, to do a great deal in 
their behalf. This I am very glad to know; for when 
I was first conscious that I was no more of earth, my 
thoughts of the little family I had left was sad. I 
did not then know that I could do anything toward 
assisting those who might care for them ; I did not 
even know that I could return, but I have learned 
that I can, and I am told that my power will be in- 
creased after leaving this place. 

I can go to Annie and Katie, [4] I know I can. 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 271 

[Question by the chairman, Mr. White : Are they your 
sisters ?] Yes, I can impress them clearly with re- 
gard to the course that will be best for them to take. 
When that matter is settled, I shall be happy here, 
and I doubt not I shall be very unwilling to return. 
Please say that you have received this from Joseph 
Yeaton, of Hallowell, Me., to parents and family." 

Two gentlemen — residents of Maine, the spirit's 
native State in earth life — who were known to Mr. 
Yeaton while in the physical, have furnished the an- 
nexed testimony to the truthfulness of his message : 

'•'•Editors Banner of Light: — The communication 
purporting to be from Joseph Yeaton, of Hallowell, 
Me., is correct. He died in Texas, [1] and his wife 
died before him as he states. [2] His two children 
[3] were sent North. He has two sisters whom he 
speaks of by their names. [4] They live in Hallowell, 
Me. He has a sister living here who married Mr. 
Alden Flye, a neighbor of mine. They are strong 
sectarians, and they may not inform you that the 
message is correct. Edwin Hovey. 

Damariscotta, Me." 

" Bangor, April 28, 1868. 
Editors Banner of Light : — Noticing in your paper 
of April 25, a communication from Joseph Yeaton, of 
Hallowell, Me., I called the attention of Mr. Phineas 
Yeaton, of this city, to it. He says that Joseph Yea- 
ton was his nephew, and that he died in Texas last 
fall [1] or winter ; that the two children [3] were 
put on board a vessel for New York, and from thence 
came on alone to Hallowell. 

Truly yours, Joseph Brown." 



272 A BIOGRAPHY OF 



JOEL NASON. 

In the Banner of Light for June 25, 1870, was 
published the third message — since the commene- 
ment of the circles at that office — from the spirit of 
Joel Nason. The good advice this spirit gives to his 
former friends — exemplifying as it does, the bene- 
ficial tendencies of the spiritual philosophy — renders 
this message specially worthy of insertion : 

"I am here for a strange errand. I was called for 
to answer some questions by a party of three in Troy, 
New York State. They wanted me to tell them 
what became of the dies I used for counterfeiting 
purposes. [1] Well, it is not certain I ever had 
any, and if it was I shouldn't tell them where they 
are. Spiritualism came into the world for a better 
purpose than to tell people how to do wrong ; to lead 
them further astray than they would go without it. 
I do not come here to plead my own innocence, nor 
to set myself up for a saint. I have communicated 
before, [2] and I have before told many of my short- 
comings when I was here. Now it is very evident 
that the parties that called me to their council or 
circle are believers, firm believers in the return of 
spirits, and in their power to do many things for 
mortals. Well, they have gained a good deal in 
having gained that. But if they are going to make 
use of the knowledge for any such purpose as they 
seem inclined to, it will become a spade, that will 
dig their own graves for them, put them in and 
cover them up. They may be sure of that. I give 
them fair warning here to make no further use, nor 
try to, of Spiritualism as they have tried to — and 
have succeeded to a certain extent ; because if they do, 
this same Spiritualism will throw off their cloak and 
show them to the world for what they are. I would 
advise them to consult spirits for purposes that will 



MBS. J. H. CONANT. 273 

elevate them as spirits, for it is not going to be a 
very long time before they lay off their bodies, and 
they will be poor indeed in this world if they do not 
shape their course differently from what they have 
for the last seventeen years. 

I was not able at that time to answer their ques- 
tion as I wanted to, and thought I would come here 
and answer it. Of course they will expect something 
different. But if I gave them what they deserve I 
should give their names, and attach characters to 
them that would not be so very bright. But I for- 
bear, hoping that they will see that they are on the 
wrong track, turn about, live different lives, and 
make Spiritualism a guide to diviner things than 
they have ever known yet. Now they are living 
down in materialism. They are steeped in it, through 
and through. Spiritualism is able to take them out 
of it if they only express a wish to be taken out. But 
I warn them not to make Spiritualism a tool to help 
them in their deviltry here. 

I am Joel Nason, of Boston. You remember me? 
Good day; good day/' 

Two correspondents (strangers to the publishers, 
or the medium, be it remembered, and living in wide- 
ly diverse sections of the country,) who were ac- 
quainted with Mr. Nason during his earth life, have 
certified to the reality of his message in letters which 
speak for themselves : 

" Salem, Mass., July 25, 1870. 
Messrs. Editors : — Looking over your Message 
Department of June 25, I saw a communication from 
Joel Nason ; about eight years ago he gave two com- 
munications through the Banner of Light, and as I 
have not seen any response in your paper, recogniz- 
ing Mr. Nason as an inhabitant of your good city, I 
thought I would tell you what I knew of him when a 



274 A BIOGllAPHY OF 

boy, or forty years ago. Mr. Nason lived at that time 
in Hanover Street, about opposite to what is known 
now as Police Station No. 1. He lived in a brick 
house, on the street, while up in his yard he owned 
another house, in which my brother-in-law lived. 
While he lived there Mr. Nason's house took fire 
from a forge which he used down in his cellar ; he 
was a blacksmith by trade, or a maker of edge tools. 
After the fire Mr. Nason employed Mr. Peirce, my 
brother-in-law, to pick over the rubbish and save all 
the axes, and other things of value he might find ; 
amongst the rest, was a great number of dies, mostly 
for foreign coin ; these dies were ordered to be taken 
into the house as soon as found. Mr. Nason was not 
a very communicative man ; he attended to his own 
business, and gave everybody around him to under- 
stand that they must do the same. He was called a 
very straightforward man in all his deeds. I never 
heard of his counterfeiting, [1] but I supposed he 
had those dies for some purpose. He built a house 
after the fire on the opposite side of the street, just 
below Police Station No. 1 ; a kind of a half house 
with gable roof, slanting one way. When he built 
it, many said it was a fair sample of Nason's oddity. 
I visited the place a short time since ; the house had 
been moved back to make the street wider ; I in- 
quired of many in that vicinity if they ever knew 
Joel Nason, but none knew him ; yet we are thank- 
ful to know that 'he still lives' to make himself 
known. Yours, &c, H. W. Clemoks." 

" Springfield, III., July 21, 1870. 
Editors Banner of Light : — In the Banner of June 
25th is the third communication you have published 
from the spirit of Joel Nason ; and though he was 
a Boston man, you have given no verification of 
his messages. I was a resident of Boston in 1830 ; 
and needing a nice job done to some machinery, 
I was directed to the shop of Joel Nason. At 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 275 

the same time, I received the intimation that he was 
supposed to be in some way concerned in counter- 
feiting bank notes. [1] We, wife and I, hud been 
previously acquainted with a sister of his, who Avas 
married to a respectable mechanic. She had been 
educated in the Calvinistic teachings of Dr. Emmons; 
and during a revival season she read ' Edwards on 
the Affections/ and ultimately became insane ; and 
died by her own hand, in the Insane Asylum. She 
had adopted two nieces ; and while one of them was 
visiting us, we had the honor of a call from her uncle, 
Joel Nason. 

Yours for truth and progression, 

Julius A. Willard." 

XIII. 

J. WALTER WALSH. 

As stated by Brother Peebles, a large number 
of the messages which appeal as true to the hearts of 
those for whom they are intended, are passed by in 
silence, and their receivers "make no sign." The 
lessons conveyed in these statements of the so-called 
" dead " to their friends in mortal, are often of a 
nature to provoke the opposition of the churchman 
and the ridicule of the thoughtless ; but here and 
there the seed drops into the fruitful soil of appreciat- 
ing hearts, and with commendable honesty and fear- 
lessness the message is verified as true by them. 

At a seance held at the Public Free Circle Room 
— Mrs. J. H. Conant, medium — September 18th, 
the following message was given, and was printed in 
the Banner of Light for Nov. 18th: 

" Some ten years ago I frequently received and read 
with interest your Banner of Light. I was at that 
time a publisher in San Francisco, Cal. [1] I never 



276 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

could make up my mind you were advocating a truth, 
although you presented many evidences that such 
was the case ; yet after all, if there was truth, it 
didn't reach me ; but I confess to being very much 
interested in the Banner. Reverses came to me by 
sickness and imprudence, and nine days ago I took 
my exit from the bod} T , in the poor-house. [2] 

I have many friends in New Orleans, who are fav- 
orably inclined to this beautiful spiritual philosophy. 
They do not know of my death, and, when they hear 
of it, will doubtless be shocked at my going out as I 
did ; but, I have to say, it was all in the order of my 
being, for there is a truth, grand and beautiful, in 
this aphorism : 

"There's a divinity that shapes our ends, 
Rough hew them as we may;" 

A power leading us perhaps from the throne to the 
dungeon, from places of trust and high position to 
the poor-house. It may be decreed in the horoscope 
of the millionaire that he shall die a pauper. It is 
useless to attempt to fathom the whys and wherefores 
of our fragmentary lives — the parts that go to make 
up our human existence— *• but if we have faith in a 
divine, over-ruling Presence in one thing, it seems 
to me we ought to have faith in all things. 

To the friend, who is an editor — I will not say of 
what, because I know his feelings in this regard — • 
dwelling in New Orleans, to whom I once sent a 
copy of the Banner of Light, requesting that he 
would write me what he thought of it, and who 
answered in brief, saying, 'It isn't worth a pica- 
yune,' I have to ask that he will analyze the pres- 
ence, power, or spirit that has stretched out a hand 
toward him from over the river of death to-day. In 
a word — if it is not J. Walter Walsh, who is it? ' If 
it is, the Banner is worth something more than a pic- 
ayune, at least to me, for it is a vehicle of exchange 
that I can find nowhere else. To him it is a key- 
note to immortality." 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 277 

The straightforward way in which the information 
is given by the spirit, shows a mind while on earth 
accustomed to concentration of thought — a habit 
which is a necessity to those connected with the press. 
Below are given extracts from two letters endorsing 
the message ; the writers of said notes being stran- 
gers to those connected with the Banner : 

"San Francisco, Cal., Nov. 25, 1871. 
Editors Banner of Light : — The communication in 
your last issue from J. Walter Walsh is correct, so 
far as relates to his publishing a paper here, [1] and, 
through his own imprudence, dying in the alms- 
house. [2] I was not acquainted with him, but have 
frequently heard my husband and friends speak of 
him. * * * My attention was also directed to the 
notice of his death in the San Francisco Morning Call, 
which took place, as he says, in the almshouse. * * * 
I believe the paper which J. W. Walsh published here 
was called the Sunday Varieties, or some such name 
as that. With sisterly love, 

Mrs. H. Wilson." 

"San Raphael, Cal., Nov.* 28, 1871. 
Messrs. Editors : — I recognize in your issue of 
Nov. 18, a message from J. Walter Walsh, strikingly 
characteristic of the man when in earth life. He was 
editor and proprietor of a paper called the Sunday 
Varieties. [1] * * * The date and particulars of his 
death as given are strictly correct, and I am happy 
to be able to verify the same, as I have many previ- 
ous messages, in your paper. He died in the alms- 
house. [2] Respectfully yours, 

Milo Calkin." 



278 A BIOGRAPHY OF 



CAPT. WJXMOT SEIDERS. 



" I do not know that I can say anything that will 
add a single feather's weight to the enormous amount 
of testimony that has already been received in favor of 
this great spiritual tidal wave, that seems destined now 
to flood everything, and to become more of a reality 
than the old fable of Noah's flood ever was; for while 
that only flooded a few acres of God's soil, this Spirit- 
ualism — if we mistake not — is destined to flood the 
whole world, and to create out of it the new heaven 
and the new earth, prophesied of by ancient seers. 

I am no preacher, nothing but a "sea-dog;" yet the 
experience I have had during the twenty odd years I 
have been in the spirit world has led me to know that 
this spiritual tide that ebbs and flows now with such 
certainty, is a fixed fact, and they who ride highest 
upon its crested waves will catch the grandest truths, 
and they who try to shirk it and to shrink from it 
will get submerged ; there's no help for them. They 
had better come into the ark of truth ; it's better than 
old Noah's ark ever was. It takes within its walls 
more than two of every kind ; it takes the whole. 

My friends — those of them who are left here on 
the earth, I understand — desire to know how, ex- 
actly how I stepped out of this life. They never 
knew, so they say. Well, I was from* New York, 
had left freight and passengers at Havana, and was 
bound for Pensacola, when I was overtaken by one 
of those storms that are peculiar to that coast at cer- 
tain seasons of the year. Instead of being able to 
keep the open sea, I was driven upon a coral reef, 
and foundered. All hands perished, every one. Just 
as we were going down I saw what seemed to me to 
be a phantom ship in the air. This phantom ship 
seemed to be hailing us ; the commander seemed to 
be telling us we were safe. This phantom ship proved 
to be a spiritual ship that was cruising there, and 
when ours foundered it took us on board. 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 279 

Now, this is a strange story to tell, but, my God ! 
it is a true one. It was just the condition of life that 
was necessary for us, and so we were ushered into 
the spirit world in just that way. 

I think there were some four besides myself who 
saw this ship, and were so absorbed in the contem- 
plation of it that they missed the fear of death. I 
did ; and they have told me since that they did. 

My wife was on board with me, and told me that 
she never stopped to think of the danger we were in, 
for she was in such an ecstatic state, contemplating 
this ship and the beautiful forms it contained, she 
had no room to think of anything else. And so, 
when the waters closed over our ship and we went 
down, our spirits rose and were taken on board this 
ship, and we were welcomed there by an old sea 
captain I had known on earth. I had known him 
when a boy. He says to me, ' Wilmot, I am glad to 
welcome you. Welcome home on board my ship.' 

I said, 'We are drowned/ 'No, no; your bodies 
were, but you are here, all of your entire crew and 
passengers, on board my ship — all safe.' 'Where 
are you bound ? ' said I. 'I am bound to a port of 
peace, to a harbor of safety,' he replied. 

I found that ship just as much of a reality as my 
own ever had been. I walked her decks as I walked 
my own. I scarcely realized the change until my 
friends on earth were apprized of my disaster, and 
their sorrow for me recalled me to my real condition. 
And then I experienced for a brief time what might 
be called grief, or a reflection of their grief. So, you 
see, my death was rather a pleasurable one, and I 
only hope that those who remain of our family may 
find the change as easy and as beautiful as I did. 
Capt. Wilmot S eiders, to his sisters, who remain 
here." 

The subjoined letter from the sisters of Captain 
S eiders presents testimony to the reliability of his 



280 A BIOGBAPHY OF 

statements, as far as material evidence can be 
produced : 

"Boston, Sept. 23, 1872. 
Editors Banner of Light : — It was with pleasure 
that we perceived in the Message Department of the 
Banner of Light, dated Sept. 21, 1872, a communica- 
tion from our brother, Capt. Wilmot S eiders, as de- 
livered at a seance held May 14th at the Free Circle 
Rooms. We desire to bear witness to the entire 
truthfulness of the spirit's utterances as far as our 
information extends. Our brother passed away at 
sea, as stated in his characteristic way, and we are 
assured that Mrs. Conant could not by any possi- 
bility have obtained the knowledge concerning his 
demise in any other way than is claimed, viz., that 
his spirit, entrancing her, spoke the words reported. 
She had, we are certain, never heard his name, which 
is a peculiar one. He was once or twice incidentally 
referred to in her presence as 'the big canoe man,' by 
an Indian influence controlling Mrs. Campbell, no 
mention of his relationship being made at the time. 
We have sedulously avoided any reference to him in 
presence of Mrs. Conant, hoping that in time he 
would return through her, and thus offer a test, of a 
perfectly convincing character, that could not be at- 
tributed to the previous knowledge of the medium. 
This wish of ours he has fully met, and we feel deeply 
grateful to him therefor, and to the medium of com- 
munion through whom his words have reached us. 
We remain, sirs, respectfully, 

Mks. Frank Campbell, 
Miss M. A. S elders." 



PART X. 



SPECIMEN ESSAYS AND INVOCATIONS. 



PART X. 



"As yonder tower outstretches to the earth 
The dark triangle of its shade alone 
When the clear day is shining on its top, 
So, darkness in the pathway of man's life 
Is but the shadow of God's providence 
By the great sun of wisdom cast thereon — 
And what is dark below is light in heaven ! " 

— J. G. IVhittier. 

I. 

The acknowledgment of a source of power outside 
of and above humanity, has been instinctively made 
by the race in all ages of time and under all conditions 
of development ; and a desire to propitiate such, by 
whatever name designated, has been shown in forms 
rude and cruel, or sweet and soul-elevating, as ac- 
corded with" the degree of enlightenment existing 
among the people so manifesting. That hardy skep- 
ticism which would make creation " groan on in its cast 
iron harness" of fixed, immutable laws, organized and 
tabulated in the long gone past, either by a force which 
is no longer found in the universe, or by a God who 
when his work was finished retired and left it to oper- 
ate in daylight or midnight according to a plan which 
he will not or cannot now revise, is not the represen- 
tative idea which fills the mind of the major portion 
of mankind. The plain of prosperity is the chosen 
283 



284 . A BIOGRAPHY OF 

field wherein it disports itself ; but in hours of trial 
the hearts of even the unreflecting sweep beyond its 
limits to the attainment of a grander consolation 
which they may not there find. Among the earliest 
teachings at the seances of Mrs. Conant occurred 
these passages with reference to prayer : 

" No man need ask how to pray, for if he knew himself he 
would know that every desire of the spirit is a prayer — every 
aspiration a prayer. * * * When sickness and sorrow 
have laid their hands heavily upon you, who does not know how 
to pray ? Not one ! 't is then through sorrow the interior voice 
is heard and obeyed." 

Allen Putnam has beautifully said in this regard : 

" In times of deep distress, in hours of conscious helplessness, 
the heart often yearns for and gets such help as man and the 
outer world alone can never give. Whence that yearning — 
that prayer ? From the head or from the heart ? Can it be an 
outflow from the deliberate reasoning faculties ? No. The rush- 
ings of the waters indicate a more gushing fountain — a more 
impulsive force. Jets from the lower depth of being stream up 
high above the common level of life's waters ; they come from 
fountains which the intellect generally fails to recognize ; whose 
properties reason's chemistry cannot analyze ; whose elements do 
not become factors in the problems which logic solves. 

There are deeper depths in man than the intellect usually 
fathoms, or science often deals with. Up from out such hidden 
wells there sometimes rush forces which, with the voice of an in- 
dwelling God, bid intellect be still, and not obstruct the loves — 
those deeper, higher powers — faculties peculiarly taught of God, 
that intuitively sense His presence ; that are themselves the hiding 
places of His power, and which now rush up to hold and help 
the soul in the hour when its crushing needs are upon it, and in 
which reason can find no way to help. Prayer by the higher 
and inner faculties is natural and helpful. # * * In many 
a dark and anguishing hour, when reason could see no ray of 
light, could find no soothing balm, many mortals have sensed 
help compassing them about in the unseen ; have sensed saving 
power in the realm of mystery ; have felt and thence believed 
that prayer could be heard and answered." 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 285 

So much for the intuitional phase of the question. 
But the case does not rest here — the witness, Science, 
is summoned to prove that these feelings and their 
concomitants are not the exercise of "imaginative 
beggary," or the dream-built nihilisms of impotent 
hypochondria. Dr. J. R. Buchanan, the indefatiga- 
ble pioneer in the field of anthropological inquiry, in 
a recent essay, has set forth the fact that his ex- 
perience in his chosen field of research, based upon 
multitudinous experiments, foreshadows the } T et to 
be more fully developed fact that there are recondite 
brain organs whose faculties can fully receive their 
legitimate and predestined unfoldment only through 
acts of aspiration — through genuine prayer to some- 
thing higher than self. He says :* 

" The cerebral organism of inspiration is more occult than that 
of ordinary intellect. The organs of the external perceptions, 
and of the memory and reason based upon them arc developed 
in the forehead, and their exterior growth and expansion may be 
seen at a glance. But the more occult faculties concerned in 
inspiration have more occult organs. They lie upon the median 
line, where each hemisphere of the brain confronts the other, and 
thus have an interior development against the falx cerebri, which 
can scarcely be estimated externally. 

This interior region of the brain, extending from the fore- 
head back on the median line, is the occult region of the more 
occult faculties, which, as they occupy an interior position, belong 
also to the most interior nature of man. These are the organs 
of those spiritual faculties which are not dependent upon the 
ordinary channels of sense, which are the least physiological 
and most psychological of all our endowments. 

In a comprehensive way it may be said that the intellectual 
function of these organs is Intuition — the direct apprehension 
of truth, which is seized without any process of external sensuous 
perception and reasoning, by which the exterior organs give rise 
to opinions. * * * It may be sufficient to present dis- 
tinctly the broad proposition irrespective of anatomical details, 
that there is a central unitary region in the brain, and that in 



286 A BIOGRAPHY OP 

that region the higher intuitional and spiritual phenomena have 
their location — that there is a region of later development in the 
individual, and of a higher, subtler organization for the higher 
functions it assumes." 

Thus it will be seen that both the swift arrow of 
intuitive perception, and the slow-moving shadow- 
finger of science along the dial plate of time, point 
surely to the importance of prayer as a proper exer- 
cise of faculties appropriate and natural, which can- 
not fail of bringing the spirit en rapport with wiser 
intelligences above it, thereby subserving and super- 
inducing ends of harmony and use. It would seem 
that Spiritualists — whose belief claims to rest upon 
both scientific and intuitional grounds — should, more 
than all other classes of moralists, recognize the util- 
ity of prayer. 

As every religious system has defined for itself the 
power to which it prays, and has walked after the 
manner of its chosen deity, the skeptic reading these 
pages may be led to inquire what is the nature of 
that God of whom Spiritualism teaches and to whom 
the Invocations offered through its media are ad- 
dressed ? While the broadest latitude on this sub- 
ject is claimed and exercised among its believers, the 
majority of communicating intelligences, through 
countless mediums all over the civilized world since 
the advent of the modern phase of spirit intercourse, 
have declared that God is a principle, not a person, 
and abides in all things. The matter has recently 
been succinctly stated by Allen Putnam in his reply 
to the questions : " Where and what is your prayer- 
hearing God? " 

"It is in, below, around, and above all. It is everywhere. 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 287 

Man cannot be where it is not. I sense it wherever I am, or 
have been. Such is my answer to the where ? 

And now for the what? It is the omnipresent, all-pervading 
spirit-universe — both whatever helps to constitute that universe 
and also all things contained in it — its one all-animatinrj prin- 
ciple, together with each fiery spark of individualized intelligence 
which that all-animating principle has ever emitted, including 
also all the activities of, and emanations from, the world of souls. 

It is anything, organized or not, in the Great Unseen, that 
man can avail himself of to gain spiritual light, spiritual growth, 
spiritual power, or any other good thing whatsoever, whether 
temporal or spiritual. To such a God, the higher faculties in 
man which want and yearn for more than this world of the outer 
senses can either give or take away— to such an Unseen Spiritual 
the higher faculties may pray, rationally believing that ' the soul's 
sincere desire ' can be felt on the other side of the screening 
veil — that it may attract the sympathies and bestir the activities 
of listening angel hosts." 

Those who fear the hitherto iconoclastic blows of 
the Spiritual Philosophy as given through its media 
upon established habits of life and customs of thought, 
are assured that in its constructive phase — yet, as it 
were, undisplayed — lies its chief seat of power. 
Truly has it been said that it is not the purpose of re- 
turning spirits to tear down, but to spiritualize all 
things connected with theologic research. Spiritual- 
ism comes not as a blasting comet to sear, like a 
branding iron, the conscience and moral sense of 
the 19th century, but as "another morn risen at mid- 
noon," to shed its glorious radiance, in conjunction 
with all that zs, or helps the race to be good and pure, 
world-wide among the children of men ! It comes 
not to make a homeless orphan of the blind devotee 
to creed, who humbly kneeling in the sanctuary, ex- 
pects one clay, in fervent faith, to meet his Father, 
where, beyond that "sea of glass mingled with fire." 



288 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

the gleaming battlements of the New Jerusalem are 
vibrating the cadence of that one tremendous song : 
" Holy, holy, holy Lord ! " but to open his inner 
sight, and teach him the grand spiritual meaning 
of the vision of the Apocalyptic seer, which either 
the ignorant misconception of the past has failed to 
perceive, or its self-interest has purposely ignored. 
Spiritualism comes not to say " Thou fool ! " to the 
stern materalistic philosopher, who standing immov- 
ably upon his two feet, makes his stiff, half-military 
salute to the shrine of Reason alone ! No. It honors 
him even as in the words of the martyr of Galilee 
" the Queen of the South " was honored, who " came 
from the uttermost parts of the earth to hear the 
wisdom of Solomon," but it also firmly proclaims to 
him that " A greater than Solomon is here ! " — that 
Reason is mighty in materiality, but intuition, speak- 
ing the home-language of the soul, must ever win in 
hours when that soul is most aroused to a conscious- 
ness of its surroundings in the physical, and its pro- 
spective conditions yet to come. Sx^iritualism teaches 
that down the spiral staircase of the spheres, in answer 
to aspiration from the lower, the inspiration of the 
higher comes, and that he who hopes for influx from 
the next stage of being above him, must see to it that 
he makes room in his soul to receive it by imparting 
all he may possess which is fitted to the advancement 
of those next beneath him — that there is no magazine 
where spiritual food may be held for selfish purposes 
from his brother man ; but that like the manna of the 
desert-wandering Israelite, whatsoever is gathered 
more than suffices for actual daily needs, will be found 
to be worthless in the morning ! It teaches, in a 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 289 

word, that diviner sense of prayer which, syllabled 
or unuttered, is matched with deeds for its own 
accomplishment. 

II. 

In the early history of the Banner of Light free 
seances, and even until sometime after the inaugura- 
tion of the Circle Room at 3i Brattle Street, Boston, 
the meetings Avere not opened by any stated prayer 
or invocation addressed to the Supreme Being, or 
First Cause. The exercises were generally prefaced 
by miniature essays pronounced either upon subjects 
embodied in questions propounded by the audience, 
or chosen by the invisibles themselves, such as 
" Death," "Immortality," "The Duty of the Nat- 
ural to the Spiritual Man," " Spirit Spheres," " Evil 
Spirits," "What is Magnetism?" " How is Man allied 
to God," etc., etc. — two of which are here presented 
as specimens of the matter and style of the early ut- 
terances at these stances, through the organism of 
Mrs. Conant : 

" ' And he hath the keys of Hell.' And he hath 
the 'keys of Heaven,' also. And he saith unto you 
whatsoever I do, ye may do also. Whatsoever I have 
ye may have. Therefore I behold in the hands of 
mortals the keys of Heaven and Hell also. And unto 
every man that seeketh to gain Heaven, glorious 
light from the celestial spheres shall come ; and unto 
him who seeketh for Hell, within his soul the fires of 
Hell shall burn. Christ was fashioned in the image 
of Purity, and Wisdom sat enthroned upon him. 
Mortals of the present day are also fashioned in the 
image of God, and Wisdom sitteth upon them also. 
But the signs of the times have been flitting upon the 



290 A BIOGKAPHY OF 

smooth face of the waters, and, like so many bubbles, 
are leading the children of God on after that which 
will vanish like them. Nature, or the God of Nature, 
has endowed all her' children with purity, and all 
mankind are again destined to become pure. How- 
ever dark the clouds which clothe the soul, Nature 
shall carry far into oblivion those garments, and he 
shall stand pure before his Creator, his Father. You 
children, who are traveling through the dark wilder- 
ness below, have a guide within which will point 
you home. Home ! where is the home of the spirit? 
Do we find it in haunts of misery, do we find it among 
those who present a direful spectacle? The body 
may for a time grovel there, but the spirit will soar 
upward to meet its God. I look upon the sphere of 
earth, and I find growing there many beautiful plants ; 
within some of these plants I find a poison, and in 
others a balm. Now they all present a like appear- 
ance to me in the external, but I look within with a 
spiritual eye, and quickly I detect a good or evil be- 
neath it. And . thus it may be with you children. 
So live that you may penetrate far be} T ond the act, 
the look, and read the souls of men. For each child 
is going on in spirit, while the body ofttimes keeps 
it entombed within a sepulchre. I see groups of 
angels around you mortals, who seek to benefit } r ou, 
and I find upon the brows of those angels the word 
Love ; and as they draw nigh unto you, I find pure 
waters gushing out from the fountain of their souls, 
flowing down to 3*011, teaching you to hope for better 
things, and calling for power to come down upon 
you from above. 

Oh that you mortals could see yourselves as ye are 
seen — that ye could see the changes which are going 
on in spirit life for you. You would then realize the 
full import of my words, when I tell 3*011 }*e have 
the keys of Heaven and of Hell in your own hands." 



MBS. J. H. COXANT. 291 



"KNOW THYSELF. 

How shall man know himself, unless he first be- 
comes acquainted with the laws of his being. Man 
is a spirit, an undying and everlasting spirit, and if 
he would know himself, he must first study the spirit ; 
and in order to accomplish that, he must enter in 
thought the portals of the spirit world, and gather 
his wisdom thence. He may dive in vain into the 
bowels of the earth for wisdom, but let him ascend 
in the spiritual sphere, and he there finds a mine in 
which pearls of great price await his labors. 

And how shall mortals accomplish this, except in 
the way God hath given? From the foundation of 
this material earth, there always have been certain 
organisms through which spirit power has been man- 
ifested, and through them you must reach the spirit 
spheres, and draw thence your wisdom. If these or- 
ganisms are imperfect, you will receive imperfection ; 
but if they are perfect, as Jesus was perfect, then 
you receive wisdom, without the taint of error. If 
our mediums are imperfect, how shall we give you 
pure water ? Now, in coming through these chan- 
nels, it receives a part of the impurities they are sub- 
ject to ; but the time will soon come when the chan- 
nels through which these living waters flow, shall 
be pure, and then, and not till then, shall they reach 
you in the purity of spirit life. All matter is subject 
unto spirit, wherever it abides, and thus far the spirit 
world must govern the natural ; and is it wonderful, 
if they do govern you, that they cannot commune 
with you ? Is there anything your Creator cannot 
perform, anything He cannot penetrate ? We think 
not. We heed not the past, we look to the present. 
Ours is to gain a victory in the future. You, in your 
existence, must travel back for ages to gain positive 
proof that spirits have the power to commune witli 
mortals ; if they did then, why not now ? Are the 
doors of the spirit world closed ? We think not ; 



292 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

ours and yours are so united together, that one cannot 
exist without the other. Our spiritual home is allied 
to your home. Who annexed the two worlds ? Jeho- 
vah! Who shall divide them? — shall man? Never. 
Therefore, if the two worlds are bound together, they 
shall march on, until there shall be none to doubt 
their unity. 

The skeptic says no, but does he give you proof of 
his assertion ? He cannot furnish the spirit of man 
with a reasonable proof of the assertion. No, his 
proof is as naught ; it cometh like the flower in the 
morning, and the sun cometh and scorcheth it, and 
it withers and falls to the ground. 

This should prove to you, children, that you have 
something to do. Go back upon that which has been 
to you a Saviour, .and walk upon the sands of olden 
time, to see if you do not find positive proof for the 
star of your time. The star which rose in the time 
of Jesus never sets ; it is in the horizon of the present 
and of the future. Then rejoice that } T oulive to-day ; 
that you have power to travel back in history's pages, 
and compare the past with the present time, and 
judge what the future may be from the comparison. 

You live for something ; all mankind live for some- 
thing, and if 3-011 wrap up your talents in the dross 
of earth, how shall you prepare your minds for life 
eternal? How shall you attain that heaven Deity 
destines you to attain ? Ah, you will attain it in the 
end, for all must be brought to God ; but you cheat 
yourselves of years of happiness, and bend the soul 
in misery, when, if }^ou will, you may attain to the 
high happiness of heaven, in the former existence. 
And why may you not attain this happiness; ah, 
whjr not? Bigotry cries out 'False Christs;' all 
the voices of sectarianism cry out, ' Stand still, and 
let God come to you,' when He who hath reigned 
forever hath bid you to follow Him. Oh, rest in 
His arms, be guided by His counsel here, and He 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 293 

will give you proof that Tic sends his messengers to 
speak to the children of earth. 

Go back for proof of our coming to past genera- 
tions, and you will find more than you know what to 
do with. Jesus said, Seek and you shall find, knock 
and it shall be opened unto yon. Oh, then go for- 
ward, knocking at every door where truth is to be 
found, seek at every temple where Jesus dwells, 
then shall you not fail to find joy, and peace, and 
truth. Come, and to-day you may find ; wanderers 
of earth, struggle no longer with things of earth, but 
seek to be acquainted with the things of the spirit. 

May the blessing of Him we serve be with you ; 
may He send holy guides to lead you ; may he aid 
you in opening the closed doors of the spirit world ; 
may he aid you in studying the m} r steries of the 
spirit's home ; may he fashion your spirits so that 
you may be true and acceptable dwellers in the land 
of the redeemed. 

This is the constant prayer of your friend Chan- 
ning, for all mankind." 

III. 

The first formal invocation to be traced in the 
history of these circles — at least the first which 
has found publicity in the Message Department 
of the Banner of Light, occurred at a seance held 
Oct. 19, and was printed in the issue of Saturday, 
Oct. 29, 1859, (No. 5, Vol. VI.) The intelligence 
uttering this pioneer petition from the spirit side of 
life neglected to furnish its name, but the subject 
matter is offered for comparison with those given at 
the present time through the same medium : 

" Thou Great, Eternal Source of Life, we will offer 
praise unto thee, because thou hast so liberally blessed 



294 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

us ; because thou hast overshadowed us continually 
with the wings of thy wisdom and thy love. 

"We praise thee, oh God, in behalf of the many 
souls in spirit-life because of the gifts of to-day ; be- 
cause, in thy wisdom, thy power and thy goodness, 
thou hast been pleased to keep in sacred state, in 
mortal form, this gift thou permittest us to use at this 
moment. 

Almighty Father of Heaven and Earth, we would 
praise thee in behalf of the inhabitants of earth-life, 
praise thee because thou art shedding thy light over 
the earth ; because the firmament is being studded 
with many new stars, called forth by the hand of* 
Progress and the finger of time. 

Oh, Thou Great Eternal, wilt thou be pleased to 
look upon the gathered few who are here to com- 
mune with those in mortal ? Give them of thy 
strength, that they may look beyond the dividing 
line which separates them from their friends in mor- 
tal. And as their messages are borne across this 
river, wilt thou send messengers of Hope and Faith 
be}^ond the spirit land, that each message, Avhen it 
reaches their people, may find a response of joy that 
shall echo in the spirit land. 

Bless, oh Holy Father, thy children in mortal, 
who are present with us to-day. May they* each one 
feel, yea, know, that they are overshadowed contin- 
ually with thy love ; that although their path is 
seemingly crowded with thorns, fine flowers grow 
thereon that shall yield fragrance in spirit life. 

May they, oh God, praise thee for each shadow 
that falls upon their pathway ; for as the night be- 
tokeneth the morning, may they feel that when the 
shadow is darkest, they are nearing the morning of 
the loving light. May they, whilst walking through 
the dark spheres of earth-life feel the continual pres- 
ence of some bright one that shall point them to 
scenes that are brighter, beyond the earth-life. 

Almighty Father, do thou give unto all the inhab- 



MRS. J. II. CONANT. 295 

itants of the lower degree of life a due knowledge of 
the Truth, for Truth is the bright star that shall 
lead all thy children to thee. Do thou, oh Holy One, 
so inspire each seeker for Truth, that lie may seek 
with wisdom, and receive with power and glory. 
Do thou bless every spirit that hath life, whether in 
the higher walks or the path of the humble. And 
to thee be all praise and power, now and evermore." 

The next invocation of which record is made, oc- 
curred under the head of " The Messenger," in the 
issue for January 21st, 1860 (No. 17: Vol. VI.;) it 
was delivered at a seance held by Mrs. Conant, Nov. 
28th, 1859, and reads as follows : 

" Oh, thou God of Nations, we offer thanks unto 
thee for the blessings we daily receive from thee. 
We praise thee in behalf of the great family thou 
hast on earth, that by so doing we may draw to our 
aid such high and holy intelligences as are so much 
needed on this dark earth-plane. 

Our Father, as the earth yields up her hidden 
treasures to the embrace of yonder sun, so we will 
yield up every gift thou hast given us, when thou 
callest for them. Thou hast taught us to occupy all 
thou hast given us, and to return thee more at thy b 
bidding, thus fulfilling the law of our nature, and 
worshiping thee, thou God of Nations. 

Oh, our Father and King, we view some before us 
to-day who have recently been called upon to part 
with those near and dear to them. Thou hast called 
in wisdom, and they have reluctantly yielded up 
their treasure. But, oh, our God, we know thou 
wilt send a comforter; thou wilt not sunder material 
ties unless thou hast power to restore that harmony 
that appears lost. We praise thee in their behalf, 
knowing that in thy wisdom thou hast drawn them 
another step from earth. And, oh Gocl, may they 
profit by the call ; may every avenue of their souls 



296 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

yield to thee, saying, ' Oh God, thou hast called, 
and we give thee.' 

Oh, Saviour of Souls, look especially upon thy 
children who are here to-day. While they come for 
gems of wisdom from spirit spheres, oh, do thou send 
mighty messengers, that the seed sown may spring 
up to thy honor and thy glory. 

Send us, oh Spirit of Power and Wisdom, the 
Angel of Peace; may he whisper in his own language 
to every soul here ; and while he whispers, may each 
spirit be in a condition to hear and to receive ; for 
peace may find an abiding place, even on earth. The 
whirlwind may sweep over us on earth, yet the An- 
gel of Peace may find a place to dwell in. 

Oh, bless all thy children, either in upper spheres 
or in lower hells. Bless those who call not upon 
thee for blessings. We are strong, and thou biddest 
us to strengthen those who are weak. If they call 
not upon thee, we will call for them, knowing that 
thou wilt hear and answer to-day or in the future." 

The above, so replete with the spirit of trustful 
submission, and comfort for those that mourn, is also 
printed without a name. Glancing along the file of 
the Banner Message Department, the next invocation 
is found in the issue of May 12, 1860 (No. 7 : Vol. 
VII,) after which date this form of introducing the 
services grows more and more common, till upon the 
inauguration of the seances at the new room (No. 3) 
in the Parker Building, 158 Washington Street — 
(which occurred Tuesday, July 9th, 1861) — it be- 
comes the general rule. The invocation delivered 
on that occasion — to which no name is appended — 
reads as follows : 

" Oh, Father, while all things beneath us in nature 
offer up praises unto thee, shall we forget to acknowl- 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 207 

edge thee in every hour, and every moment of our 
lives? Do we not know that thou art the Father 
and the Creator of all conditions of life, of light as of 
darkness, of evil as of good ? We will not forget, oh 
Father, to praise thee for all, for all are good in thy 
sight. 

Oh God, we thank thee that we are again enabled 
to take Upon ns the fleshy tabernacle of humanity, 
and from the body of death to offer praises unto thee. 
Though the flesh is weak, and though we know dark- 
ness may shroud the earth for a time, yet we know 
the clouds shall break away, and we shall behold thy 
shining face. 

Oh God, shall we ask thee to bless thy children of 
humanity? We know all thou doest is in blessing, 
and that thy arms of love encircle all thy children. 
Thou, oh God, but knowest the wants of all who call 
thee Father, and so Ave ask thee for nothing, for thou 
blessest us in everything and alway. Whatever con- 
ditions we find around us we will accept and bless 
thee for, believing they are right and good. 

Oh Divine Spirit of the Universe, we would thank 
thee also in behalf of thy great family, who seem to 
forget thee. For them as for all, we know thy guar- 
dian care is extended, and, like all things in lower 
nature, they shall learn to continually bless thee." 

The circles were at first conducted anonymously, 
no name being given by the supervising intelligence 
till in the issue of February 10, 18G6, we find the 
seances held December 5 and 11, 1865, announced 
as " closed " by Willie Lincoln and Thomas Paine 
respectively. After this date at intervals the names 
of Robert Owen, William E. Channing, Joseph Brant, 
Luther V. Bell, M. D., William Berry, T. Starr 
King, Theodore Parker, (who first appears by name 
in connection with these circles at a seance held Jan- 



298 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

uary 23, 1866,) Father Henry Fitz James, (first 
mentioned at the close of a seance held March 1, 
1866,) and numerous others are given as " open- 
ing" or "closing" the sittings. In course of time 
the custom of announcing the controlling intelli- 
gence at each seance became established in its 
present form. 

From the original spirit messages — the foundation 
of the seances — as a natural sequence, flowed answers 
to queries propounded by the audience, at first con- 
cerning the spirits speaking, but gradually broaden- 
ing out into the examination of other themes. After 
awhile sealed letters were presented for consideration 
by those who could not be in attendance, and in time 
this mode of obtaining replies to questions was 
adopted by many present who did not wish to offer 
them orally. The first instance wherein formal men- 
tion is made as to their being so answered, is con- 
tained at the close of the report of a seance held Octo- 
ber 2, 1866, when the spirit of Charles A. Davis is 
recorded as performing the duty. The regular order 
of exercises now followed -at the circles consists of 
an invocation, succeeded by the consideration of 
questions, then individual messages, and the closing 
phase of briefly answering sealed letters. 

The following selections, from the great mass of 
invocations which for so many years have been given 
thrice a week through the lips of Mrs. Con ant at 
these circles, are offered to the public, together with 
the names of the spirits purporting to give them, 
ending with that of Theodore Parker, the President 
of the Circle, that each heart may appropriate that 
which most appeals to its needs. 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 299 

REV. JESSE J'». FERGUSON. 

The following address to the Soul of Goodness, 
is from the spirit of Rev. Jesse B. Ferguson, once a 
Avell known Methodist preacher of high repute in 
Tennessee; afterwards, a faithful worker in the field 
of Spiritualism : 

" Oh thou who art without beginning or end, 
nameless, yet having all names, formless, yet having 
all forms, we praise thee. In our semi-savage intelli- 
gence we praise thee. Looking out through the 
darkness of our own individuality to the glory of 
eternity, we are dazzled and confused ; and we ask 
for strength, we ask for wisdom, we ask for all those 
higher attributes that belong to the soul's high estate. 
We look back through the darkness from which we 
came, and even in our littleness we understand that 
we have been cared for tenderly by thee ; that our 
every hour has been watched over and blessed by 
thee ; and although we have been scourged by many 
stripes, yet it has been all in love, and for our high- 
est, our divinest good. This we see, oh Soul of Good- 
ness, and for it we praise thee. And now that we 
are enfranchised from the darkness incident to the 
mortal life, we ask that we may return to those who 
still remain, giving them strength, inspiring them 
with faith, and leading them by the right hand of 
love through the darkened way of mortal life to the 
bright shining shores of the better land. Father, 
accept our praises, answer our prayers. Be thou 
unto us in all future conditions, what thou hast been 
to us in the past : Father, Friend, and Saviour. 
Amen." 

The fathers of the Roman Catholic Church Spirit- 
ual have spoken their words of hope and offered their 



300 - A BIOGRAPHY OF 

supplications for the good of humanity full often at 
these public seances : 

POPE GREGORY VHI. 

" Forever and forever we would worship and adore 
thee, oh Lord our God, bringing unto thy shrine all 
beautiful and holy thoughts ; praying unto thee for 
peace and pardon, and for all those conditions that 
shall render us useful and happy ; asking for as much 
of thy wisdom as may be expedient for us in the 
present, and in the future, life everlasting. Amen." 

FATHER HENRY FITZ JAMES. 

" Father Almighty, thou Saviour and safeguard of 
every world and every soul, to thee we pray. Upon 
the frailty of human life, we implore thy blessing. 
We ask that we may stand in such a near relation- 
ship to truth, that it may be understood by us, and 
when understood, may we find strength within our- 
selves to project it forth into the lives of those who 
have it not. We ask that ministering angels of love 
and mercy and justice may be added to our ranks, 
who shall go forth into the earth life, ministering 
unto the needs of the sick and the afflicted, and those 
who are bowed down by the cares and sorrows of 
this life ; who know not the way to the other life ; 
who see nothing but darkness ; who believe in no 
hereafter ; who recognize thee as a God filled with 
vengeance, that will execute judgments without 
mercy upon them. Oh give us more of thine angels 
who will work for those whose minds are shrouded by 
the superstitions of the earth life, around whose souls 
are clustered the falsehoods of a false religion. And 
oh, we ask thee, Great Spirit of Truth, that we may 
ever be ready, ever be joyous to do thy will and 
work in thy way, and minister unto those who have 
need of our ministrations ; and thus shall we gain 
thy kingdom, and lay up for ourselves treasures in 



MRS, J. H. CONANT. 301 

the celestial life, where moth and rust cannot cor- 
rupt, and where no thieves break through and steal. 
Amen." 

CARDINAL CHEVERUS. 

" Thou Beautiful Spirit, our God, who hath hal- 
lowed this day and this hour, and made them beauti- 
ful, may it please thee to bestow upon us that truth 
which shall make us free. May it please thee to in- 
spire us, thy children, who are here — the living and 
the dead — with thy wisdom, which shall forever 
burn upon the altar of the soul, lighting it- through 
eternity. May it please thee to baptize us with that 
love which shall own all men and women as of thee, 
and therefore very good. And unto thee be the 
spoken and unspoken praises of our souls forever. 
Amen." 

ARCHBISHOP HUGHES. 

"Ye Holy Three in One, Past, Present and Future 
Good, we pray thee to baptize us this hour with thine 
own inspiration. We pray thee that the dews of thy 
goodness may this hour fall upon us. And, in be- 
half of an oppressed and ignorant humanity, Ave ask 
that the abominations of political ungodliness may 
speedily pass away. That which has corrupted gov- 
ernments and builded the guillotine for the people, 
oh Infinite Good, may it- speedily pass aAvay, and 
may men of science, in whose souls is an abiding 
sense of truth, soon find place and power on the 
earth, and may the governments of earth represent 
the governments of heaven. May truth, justice and 
love be their corner stones, and may the mantle of 
everlasting peace ever enfold them. Mighty Spirit, 
bless thou the sick and the suffering. Send holy 
angels to those who are bowed down with grief. 
Oh, let thy light shine in dark places, where the soul 
cries out to know of thee — to be saved. We praise 
thee, Almighty God, for the holy gift of living. We 



302 A BIOGBAPHY OF 

praise thee for the sublime realities of life ; that 
wherever we go we find ourselves always surrounded 
by beauty in nature and beauty in mind. We only ask 
that from the sin of self-righteousness, of bigotry and 
error, thou, oh Lord, wilt deliver us. Thou hast 
breathed upon nature, and it has a living soul, from 
the daisy to the rolling world in space. The mur- 
muring brook says to us, ' Lo ! God is here ! ' and the 
young world, as it flies among the stars and gathers 
to itself new elements, and appropriates to itself an 
orbit, says to the observer, ' Lo ! God is here !' And 
the little child, as it lisps its evening prayer at its 
mother's knee, says, 4 God is here ! ' Wherever we 
go, there thou art, oh Infinite Spirit of Truth, to 
teach us and lead us. Therefore we know that thou 
art here to bless us ; here to redeem the soul from 
error ; here to baptize it in thine own way in the 
waters of infinite truth. And to thy keeping we 
intrust these souls and our own, oh Infinite Past, 
Present, and Future Good. Amen." 

FATHER SHAW. 

" Ye Holy Spirits, in whom abide love, wisdom, 
truth and power, ye who are charitable and kind, 
inspire us this hour, and bring us nearer to your 
God and to ours. Give us to drink of the water ye 
have drank of, give us to eat of the bread ye have 
eaten of, and let us worship at the shrine whereunto 
ye have worshiped. So shall we come nearer to 
truth, nearer to wisdom. Ye who are the heaven- 
appointed evangels, watching over human life, come 
to us this hour and inspire these mortals, dispel their 
shadows, illume all the darkened chambers of their 
spiritual being, and lead them nearer to wisdom, 
nearer to truth. Amen." 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 303 



FATHER HAWLEY. 

" To the Author of all that is, and was, and shall 
be, we address ourselves in prayer — not proposing to 
change thy laws, oh Soul of Worlds and Soul of 
Souls, but desiring to understand them, and that we 
may place ourselves in harmony with them, that thus 
we may make no discord in the grand symphony of 
creation. Mighty Spirit, we, like half savages, stand 
in the vestibule of creative power, and wonder what 
that power is, and Where it abides. Teach us, oh 
Mighty Spirit, teach us of thyself; not that thou art 
not daily, hourly, and momently teaching us, do Ave 
pray to be taught, but that we are not always con- 
scious of that power which is an ever abiding presence 
with the soul. But open thou our consciousness to- 
ward thyself, and make us to know thee as our 
Father and our Saviour. Make us to have that faith 
in thee which amounteth to knowledge. And, oh 
God, may it please thee to give us power to aid those 
who are in the darkness of the human life — who are 
struggling with the superstitions and clouds incident 
to mortal growth. May it please thee to give us 
power to raise them from their darkened condition, 
to unfold their vision, to show them something of the 
wonders of the higher life ; and thus shall thy king- 
dom come, and so thy will be done by us, wherever 
we may be. Amen." 

The founders or strong representatives of several 
sects of Protestant Churches have here borne witness 
to the knowledge of (not faith in) the goodness of 
the Over-Soul, that is in them : 

JOHN WESLEY. 

" Breathe thou upon us, oh Holy Spirit of Truth, 
that we may live and move in thee. Let thy king- 
dom come on earth, that is waiting and groaning to 
be delivered from ignorance — from the darkness of 



304 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

superstition. And leave us not alone in temptation, 
but deliver us from all evil. And thy kingdom shall 
be our kingdom, and thou shalt be our God, forever 
and forever. Amen." 

MATHETl BYLES. 

" Holy art thou, oh Spirit of the Hour, thou Past, 
Present, and Future; thou Wisdom, Love and Truth! 
May we so understand thee, so have thy presence in 
our hearts as to fear no evil, since thou art with us. 
And whether we wander in darkness or revel in light, 
may it be all the same to our consciousness ; may we 
feel secure in thee. Thou Spirit ! thou Life ! who 
hast guided' us through all the past, who dost sus- 
tain us in the present, and dost prophesy of our 
future, we praise thee. We would stretch out all 
the powers of our being to grasp thee, to analyze 
thee, to become one with thee. And, as ministering 
spirits, we pray thee for light, and life, and love ; 
that we may ever be found doing our duty toward 
those who dwell in the shadow of the earthly life ; 
who are stretching out their hands in the darkness 
of time, striving to understand thee. To them, oh 
Infinite Wisdom, Love and Truth, may we be faith- 
ful servants. And finally, when the light of truth 
shall shine more gloriously upon them and upon us, 
may we join hands in the worship of the Infinite 
Spirit — our Father, our God. Amen." 

JOHN PIERPONT. 

" Come, Holy Spirit, come, that the weary may find 
rest in thee; come, that the ignorant may learn of 
thee ; come, that the desolate-hearted may rejoice 
because of thy presence ; come, that the wilderness 
of mourning human hearts may blossom with the 
roses and lilies of truth, wisdom, and love ; come, 
that the darkness that b'ershadows human hearts 
may be driven away before thy clear sunlight of 
truth, and that the dews that have settled upon the 



MRS. J. II. CONANT. 305 

flowers human, because of sorrow, may sparkle, and 
gladden those human hearts, for it shall lead them unto 
knowledge. Come, Holy Spirit, come and redeem 
thy promise : that if thou didst go away, thou wouldst 
come again and receive all thy children unto thyself 
that where thou art there they should be also. There 
are many who know not of thy presence, who under- 
stand not of thy coming; therefore if thou art with 
them it is all the same to them. Oh, then, open 
their understanding, and give them to know of 
truth ; illume all the darkened chambers of their 
human lives, and reveal thyself unto every human 
soul, that the soul may stand upon the Mount of 
Tranfiguration and rejoice in thee. Having over- 
come the darkness of error, may they rejoice in the 
sunlight of truth. And unto thee, oh Holy Spirit, 
we will sing our song of praise, and forever and for- 
ever worship and adore thee. Amen." 

WILLIAM ELLERY CHANGING. 

" Oh Thou whose loving kindness we behold in 
this day, which like a precious gem adorns the brow 
of time, we, thy children, the living and they whom 
the living call the dead, being gathered here in 
council, to the end that we may be wiser and better, 
pray thee to inspire those who shall speak with a 
knowledge of the truth, and those who shall hear 
with the power to perceive the truth. And thy 
children, both the living and the dead, will adore 
thee forever and forever. Amen." 

T. STARR KING. 

" Oh, our God, we thank thee for the gift of me- 
dia, those sensitives who, in all ages, have stood 
between the living and. the dead, between truth and 
error, between light and darkness, between ignorance 
and wisdom, and, according to their faithfulness, 
have been the saviours of the world. And we ask 
for them humility and faithfulness to the truth ; we 



306 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

ask that each cross shall be well borne while here, 
that when they shall be called upon to resign their 
earthly labors, they may, in the other life, hear the 
' Well clone, good and faithful servant ; thou hast 
been faithful over small things,- I will make thee 
ruler over great things.' May they be satisfied with 
themselves. May their own God sanction all their 
deeds, and thus may they ever live at peace with thee. 
And, our Father, we thank thee for the gift of those 
liberal minds who, eschewing error, become con- 
vinced of truth, and join thy great army of progress, 
even here in this life. We thank thee, oh Lord, for 
those who fearlessly embrace truth and own they 
have embraced it ; and we thank thee for those be- 
nevolent souls who can never say no to the poor and 
needy ; for those whose hearts are ever ready, in con- 
junction with their hands, to bless their fellows ; and 
for those, also, who, having no earthly means, can 
bless with a kind word, with a loving smile, with a 
holy benediction. And for the seasons in their beau- 
ty, that come like divine teachers fresh from thy hand, 
we thank thee ; for the springtime, with its young 
life and beauty ; for the summer, with its many gar- 
lands and fruits, we thank thee ; for the autumn, 
with its sere leaves and cooler winds, we thank thee ; 
for the winter, that covers the" earth with its pure 
white garment, thus protecting the tender rootlets of 
the flowers that they may come forth again in the 
springtime to gladden the human heart, we thank 
thee; for the sunlight and for the shadow, for all 
these conditions of nature, which are but expressions 
of thyself, -oh. Lord, we thank thee. And for that 
harder experience which comes to us through human 
suffering, we thank thee ; for that which knocks 
loudly at the door of our sensibility, and causes us to 
know that we tarry here but a brief time, that 
there is another life to which we are tending, we 
thank thee. And for Death, that beautiful angel of 
change that ignorance has robed in various forms of 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 807 

terror, we thank thee. And we thank thee, oh our 
Father, that thine angels from the higher life pre- 
ceded us, and told us, when here even in the mortal 
form struggling with disease and decay, that there 
was a better land, that there was a highway opened 
over which the soul could retrace its steps and com- 
. mune with those whom it loved and left on earth. 
Oh Infinite Spirit, thou hast cared well for all our 
necessities, and we praise thee to-day for each and all 
thy blessings ; and we ask only that we shall always 
be strong in truth and in well doing, and that what- 
ever we find to do we shall be ready to do it. Amen." 

REV. CHARLES BURROUGHS. 

Almighty God, may it please thee to hallow this 
hour, to make it a sacrament that shall nourish these 
souls for eternity ; may it please thee to bring some 
special good to each longing heart present ; may it 
please thee to imbue thy ministering spirits with wis- 
dom, love, truth and power ; may it please thee to 
incline our hearts unto wisdom, to open all our spirit- 
ual senses to understand thee and thy law ; may it 
please thee, oh Father, to so inspire us with love for 
those who still remain in the body, in the shadow of 
death, that we shall be willing to bear their crosses ; 
to aid them in climbing the hill of life, and in secur- 
ing for themselves a mansion beyond death. And 
for all thy love, thy care and thy tender mercy over 
us, we, thy children, will praise and adore thee forever 
and forevermore. Amen." 

AO LEE. 

" Oh, ye saviours of the world, we invoke your 
presence this hour. Ye who, in every age, have 
preached the gospel of peace, be with us while we 
shall worship your God and our God. Let the man- 
tle of your spirit fall upon many heads, and may they 
speak in your names and prophesy by your lives. 
Walk ye among the sons and daughters of men, in- 



308 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

spiring them to holier deeds and holier thoughts, 
taking away the sword and giving them the plow, 
taking away all the implements of warfare and giving 
them those of industry, which speak of peace and 
prophesy of heaven. Let the light of your righteous 
deeds illuminate all the dark places of mortality. 
Enter ye all the homes that are desolated by death; 
speak peace to the mourner ; give comfort to the dis- 
consolate ; raise up the downtrodden; and in all 
things follow your master, the Spirit of Truth, so 
that the kingdom of heaven may be yours. And as 
you inspire us, and we follow you, may it be ours also. 
Amen." 

ARCHBISHOP WHATELY. 

" Most Holy One, we return thee thanks for thy 
manifold blessings ; and we pray for strength to bear 
life's crosses and to wear its crown. Amen." 



ELIAS SMITH. 

" Thou Infinite Presence, thou Divinest Good, thy 
children mortal, and they whom the living call dead, 
would worship and adore thee. Looking upward 
and outward from the mists and fogs of imperfect 
being, we can understand thee. And we ask, oh In- 
finite Presence, oh Divinest Good, to be taught of 
thee. We ask that, as thou hast opened the Book 
of Life for us, thou wilt teach us to read it aright ; 
and we praise thee, oh Spirit of All Good, for what 
thou hast done for us ; for life, with all its varying 
scenes of love and wisdom and power ; for these re- 
ligious sentiments, which find expression through the 
soul, we praise thee , for all these varying powers 
that the soul exhibits in its passage through time, we 
praise thee. And we ask, our Father, that wherever 
we may be, we may be conscious of thy presence ; 
and so we may do thy will, and thus enjoy thy bless- 
ing and the approbation of our own souls. Amen." . 



MBS. J. H. CONAKT. 309 



EMANUEL SWEDENBORG. 

" Oil thou Eternal One, whom we ignorantly wor- 
ship, thou to whom we go with our prayers when we 
are weary, or when we are glad, thou whose being 
becomes the safeguard of ours, the eternal presence 
from which we have come, and to which we go, we 
praise thee this hour through the weakness of human 
life. We praise thee for the gift of that human life 
with its many hells, each one of which, under thy 
divine guidance, becomes a school wherein the soul 
is educated for heaven. We praise thee, oh Spirit 
Eternal, for the many religions that have found an 
expression on earth, for they each and all are leaves 
in the sacred volume of the soul. We praise thee 
for the saviours of every age, they who have stood 
out from the masses, and have preached the gospel 
of truth as they understood it. We praise thee for 
those who heard them, for those whose lives were 
made better by hearing them. We praise thee for 
the seasons, with their richness and beauty, for the 
glory with which thou hast crowned them all. We 
praise thee that we know that life is one eternal 
chain, having its beginning and ending in thee, and 
that Ave are links in that chain, united one to the 
other. And we praise thee, oh thou Eternal One, 
that in this age thou dost speak through the new 
revelations to thy children here, those who are still 
clothed upon with the body of mortality. And we 
praise thee that there are thousands and tens of thou- 
sands of souls who have perceived thy revelation, and 
have made it a joy unto themselves. Receive our 
praises, and bless thou thy children here, not for our 
sakes, but for thine own glory. Amen." 



310 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

The disciples of Judaism, those whom the world 
calls Pagan, and the red children of nature, have 
here (as per citation) lifted up their voices to the 
Great Spirit — the Fountain of Light : 

RABBI LOWENTHAL. 

"Coming to thee, oh Israel's God, oh Infinite Jeho- 
vah, we would renew our vows, and in nature's pure, 
ever flowing fountain would wash ourselves and be 
clean — clean from all malice, from all religious dark- 
ness, from all that ignorance which belongeth to 
time, and robing ourselves in nature's simplest gar- 
ments, which thou didst give us in the beginning, 
would enter thy courts with praise, and the heaven 
of thy wisdom with thanksgiving. We would wor- 
ship thee as the one God over all. We would rec- 
ognize thy being in nature and in our hearts. We 
perceive thy loveliness in all external things, and we 
read thy power in nature's care of everything. We 
give thee many names, yet after all thou art the one 
God, the Infinite Jehovah, reigning in time and eter- 
nity. Thou dost not need that we praise thee. Our 
prayers cannot change thee, but they may change us. 
Our prayers cannot raise thee in wisdom, but they 
may raise us. Our praises may rest at thy feet, but 
they will be like crowns upon our brows. We ask 
that the consciousness of thy love may be ever pres- 
ent with every soul here. May they own thee as 
their God, the Infinite Spirit who loveth all, who 
careth for all, and will finally restore all from dark- 
ness to light, from ignorance to wisdom, from hell to 
heaven. Amen." 

RABBI SHEIDER. 

" Oh thou who art the one God over all worlds 
and all souls, we invoke thy blessing. Let thy sun 
of righteousness shine into our souls, making glori- 
ously beautiful all those attributes which are of thee. 
Let thy blessing come to the ignorant with wisdom, 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 311 

to the bigot with freedom, to the sick with health, 
to the doubter with faith, to those who are in the 
valley of the shadow of human despair with comfort 
— and may thy kingdom come, and thy will be done 
by us, this hour and forever more. Amen." 

i 

EAHMOHUN ROY. 

" Thou Great Spirit, with whom abideth the issues 
of life and death, we are here to thank thee for all 
thy blessings, and to ask thee for more. Believing 
that thou knowest our needs, it would seem useless 
that we come to thee through prayer ; and yet, 
through all the scriptures of thy Nature, thou hast 
taught us to ask for what we need, to put forth the 
powers of our being for what we would receive. As 
flowers turn their faces to the sunlight, that they 
may gather strength and new life, so we turn our 
faces toward thee, Great Spirit, that we may gather 
of thy wisdom, of thy power, of thy life. Turning 
our backs upon our own ignorance, we would be 
baptized with thy wisdom, and leaving behind the 
shadows of the past, we would walk straightway 
into the sunbeams of the present ; and we Avould un- 
derstand, Great Spirit, what thou requirest at our 
hands. We would know thy laws, and obey them. 
We would read thy volume of life well, and profit 
thereby. We would become ministering spirits of 
love to those who are spiritually or physically sick. 
We would become teachers, after thine own divine 
right, unto those who are spiritually ignorant. We 
would go down into the hells of life, to rescue from 
thence thy sons and thy daughters, in thy name, oh 
Lord ; and we would perform all those many, many 
mighty works that the gods in past ages have per- 
formed, all in thy name and for thy glory. Amen." 

ABD-EL-HADDA. 

" Mighty Allah, when the night of this life is over 
and the morning of the other life has come, may 



312 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

these Christians be satisfied with the Paradise which 
their earthly deeds have purchased. May the flow- 
ers be fresh, the grasses green, the waters clear, the 
skies cloudless, and the fruits of their good works 
hanging in plenty from the tree of life. May no star 
be dimmed by the remembrance of duties badly done, 
and no sun hide its face in shame from their earthly 
lives.'' 

ISHMUD KEDA. 

" Mighty Allah ! thou who art the Great Jehovah 
of these Christians, wilt thou hear the prayer of thy 
servant who worshiped at the shrine of Mahomet, 
who is thy child, and thou our Leader. Wilt thou 
bless thy servant by blessing these Christians, and 
guiding them, that when they shall reach the prom- 
ised land, of which their religion teaches, they shall 
find temples there made glorious and beautiful by 
the good deeds of their mortal lives." 

SA-GOYE-TVA-THA (RED JACKET.) 

" Mighty Spirit, we know that thou art great in 
wisdom, and that thy thoughts fill all the earth and 
all the heavens, therefore we can trust thee. Thou 
didst speak to us and to our fathers many moons 
ago, when we were covered with the darkness of this 
life, and we heard thee, and did what we could to 
follow thee ; and in the new and brighter hunting- 
ground of the soul thou again dost speak to us, and 
we have heard thy voice, and we shall do what we 
can to follow thee. Though thou didst not give us 
books, as thou didst our white brothers, yet thou didst 
give us, as them, the Book of Life, and thou didst tell 
us to read that book, and to understand it, and by it 
to find thee. But, Great Spirit, no white man nor 
Indian has ever yet been able to understand that 
book, therefore we ask thee to enlighten our under- 
standing, and quicken our thoughts, and shed the 
light of thine own great soul upon us, so that we 
may read aright and understand aright, and walk 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 313 

faster toward thee. Thou cliclst give us, when here, 
and since we have ascended to the upper hunting- 
ground, many tokens of thy pleasure. We are satis- 
fied with them, and we hope that thou art satisfied 
with us." 

Literature, science and polished society have here 
furnished spirit votaries for the worship of the In- 
finite : 

BAKON YON HUMBOLDT. 

" Thou Wondrous Power, moving through mat- 
ter, whose manifestations fill us with wonder, and 
before whom the philosopher and the savage • bow in 
reverence and adoration, we, thy loyal subjects, 
would worship thee this hour. Thou Infinite Pres- 
ence, who determineth the color and the form of 
every flower, and giveth to the leaf its greenness, we 
worship and adore thee for thy loving kindness 
toward us, for the wondrous power and wisdom that 
thou doth exhibit in all thy creations. And Ave ask, 
oh God of all mind and of all matter, that thou wilt 
lead us still more closely to thyself: that thou wilt, 
day by day, unfold thy volume of wisdom to us, 
and give us power to read it aright. We ask, oh 
Mighty Spirit, that, as we travel through thy won- 
drous universe, we may ever feel secure in thee ; that 
thy loving kindness may ever be so present in our 
souls that We shall fear no evil. Amen." 

LADY HESTER STANHOPE. 

" Oh thou Light, shining in the darkness, which 
the darkness comprehendeth not, we pray thee to 
deliver us from ignorance, which makes cowards of 
us all. We pray thee to establish that peace on earth 
which can come alone as the recognition of the holier, 
the higher, the diviner law. We pray thee to minis- 
ter especially, through thine angels, to the sick and 
the afflicted, to those who sorrow in mind or body. 



314 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

And for these mortals we ask, when they shall close 
the book of this life, may they find upon the title- 
page of that other a reward for every good deed done 
here. Amen." 

MAKGAEET FULLER OSSOLI. 

" Thou wondrous Whole, whose body Nature is, 
and God the Soul ! we thy children, have assembled 
here, the living and the dead, that we may worship 
and adore thee, by studying the philosophy of life, by 
mounting the spiral staircase that leads to thee, that 
overcomes ignorance and sin, and makes the soul at 
one with thee. Thou Infinite Spirit, ever present, 
ever lovely, we may approach to perfect prayer and 
praise, but we understand our ignorance and our 
weakness, and we know that thou art beyond our com- 
prehension. We may reach out toward thee in our 
prayers and in our praises, but that is all. But forever 
and forever thou wilt bless us ; thy loving kindness, 
thy tender mercy will be forever our shield; and thou 
wilt forever fold us in the mantle of love^ and bear us 
onward, forever onward through eternity. May the 
loving angels gathered here be blessed in their 
endeavors. May they inspire anew holy purposes 
and stronger Teachings out toward thee. May they 
dispel the gloom that hovers around some of these 
human hearts, and show them the sun that is shining 
'mid the clouds of earth. And to thee, oh beautiful 
Spirit of Love, be endless praises." 

LORENZO DOW. 

" Oh Lucifer, thou Morning Star, whose bright- 
ness hath gilded the heavens and the earth, draw 
nigh unto these souls in mortal, shedding a divine 
halo over the altar of their being, such as shall drive 
away the bats and owls of superstition and bigotry. 
We know thy light hath shone through every age. 
We know that no soul is without its radiance , yet 
in behalf of the souls who are gathered here on this 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 315 

occasion, we beseech thee to shed a newness of thy 
light upon them, whereby they may come to an un- 
derstanding of thy truth, and shall be made ready to 
leave all doubt, all superstition and error, and wor- 
ship at the shrine of everlasting truth. 

Thou art our Father ; thou art our Source ; thou 
art the brightening radiance of our souls ; thou art 
him that giveth us our immortality. We can- 
not understand thee, but we can worship and love 
thee. In the midst of the darkness of every age, thy 
wondrous wisdom some soul hath been able to per- 
ceive. In the midst of wars, of pestilence, of famine, 
and of all those sad experiences through which the 
soul in humanity is called to pass, there thou hast 
shone, and thy light has been the light that has led 
every soul unto heaven. 

Therefore, oh Son of the Morning, oh Morning 
Star, unto thee we will ascribe all honor, all glory, 
all praise, forever and ever. Amen." 

HENRY C. WRIGHT. 

" Oh ye who are mighty in wisdom and truth, who 
have gained the victory over ignorance, come, ye 
holy spirits, and become teachers unto an ignorant 
humanity. Oh, lift them, and leave them not till 
the kingdom of righteousness and peace is the inher- 
itance of every living soul. Amen." 

CHARLOTTE CORDAY. 

" Oh thou who art the Resurrection and the Life, 
fountain of that constant light burning upon the 
altar of every conscious life, which will finally re- 
deem it from evil and restore it to peace, Ave praise 
thee this hour. We praise thee for the various in- 
fluences that are flowing from the world of spirit to 
the world of matter. Like a holy benediction cometh 
the voice of those whom the living call dead. And 
we ask, Great Spirit, that it may rest and find a 
place within every conscious life, leading the soul to 



316 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

thee, redeeming it from error, and speaking to it 
those words of peace which are so necessary upon 
this troubled ocean of humanity. We ask for peace 
in behalf of nations and individuals. We ask for 
light in behalf of all thy suffering humanity, and we 
ask for strength ourselves, in our weakness, that we 
may give to those who are still weaker than we are ; 
that we may lead to the fountains of wisdom, love 
and truth, thy sons and thy daughters, who aspire to 
go there. Mighty Spirit, receive our praises ; for 
thine is the kingdom, the power, and the glory, for- 
ever and ever. Amen." 

FREDERICK T. GRAY. 

" Oh Lord, thou Spirit infinite and just, thou hast 
tenderly cared for us through all past eternity up to 
the present moment. Thou hast walked with us 
through the valley of the shadow of death. Thou 
hast opened the gates of thine heavenly city, and 
thou hast called us again to mortal life. Since thou 
hast guarded us so lovingly in the past, we should be 
unworthy of thy love if we failed to trust thee, if we 
failed to lay our endless future upon the altar of thy 
being, knowing thou wilt care for it. 

Oh Lord, thou guardest the sunshine. Thou takest 
note of the seasons. Thou givest beauty and fra- 
grance to the flowers. Shall the soul fear that thou 
wilt forsake it ? 

No, oh Lord, our Father, we will trust thee, and 
in trusting thee we will endeavor to serve thee, not 
alone with mouth-utterances, but with thoughts and 
with deeds — such deeds as shall make ourselves 
beautiful in thy sight, and beautiful in the sight of 
all thy ministering spirits. Father of Life ! Spirit 
Eternal ! thy power we cannot measure. Thy love 
is boundless as eternal, and all thou hast, all thou 
art, we know in thy beneficence thou wilt finally 
confer upon thy children. All the blessings that are 
stored in thy vast storehouse, we know we shall 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 317 

finally receive. And oh, grant that speedily every 
soul may hear a voice from its own inner life, saying, 
4 Well done, good and faithful servant ! as thou hast 
been faithful over the small things of life, I will now 
make thee ruler over greater things.' 

We ask no blessing, oh Great Jehovah, upon these 
thy children, for day unto day thou art blessing them , 
and when the shades of night fall around them, and 
sleep comes to their outer natures, then in their 
inner lives they hold communion with thee. Thou 
art impressing thine own divine presence upon their 
being ; and when the morning comes they feel to 
thank thee that thou hast watched over them through 
the night, and when the night comes they feel to 
trust thee because in their soul-lives they feel that 
thou art worthy to be trusted, and that thy power is 
seen in life and in what men call death. 

In all the circumstances of life, either human or 
divine, thy power is sufficient for all thy children. 
Accept our praises ; hear our prayers. They are 
offered in the name of all past life, of all present life, 
and of all life that is to come. Amen." 

THOMAS PAINE. 

" Oh Life, beautiful Life, in thee we live and move 
and have our being ; and unto thee we are responsi- 
ble for the use we make of the talents thou hast 
bestowed upon us. We will endeavor to put forth 
these talents to the best use of thy kingdom, in the 
present and the future, so that we may deliver thee 
thine own, with usury, in the hereafter ; that when 
we hang as ripened fruit on thy wondrous tree, we 
may be satisfied with ourselves ; that we may hear 
from thy kingdom of wisdom that we have done well 
with what thou hast bestowed upon us. Then, we 
shall be well worthy to become inhabitants of the 
celestial life, the kingdom of happiness. Amen." 



318 A BIOGRAPHY OF 



THEODORE PARKER. 

" Oil thou Eternal God, who nameth over our 
heads and flowereth under our feet, who art the life 
of every living thing, we come to thee this hour, not 
to beseech thee to bestow any more upon us than 
that we already have, but to ask thee to quicken our 
perceptions, that we may understand what we have, 
and be able to be blessed by it. 

Oh thou who giveth to the lily its whiteness, to the 
rose its blush — who doth set every star in the grand 
mosaic of the skies in its proper place, wilt thou not 
care for us, and give us our proper setting, our proper 
place in life ? Wilt thou not guide our souls away from 
all darkness, into thine own clear light ? Wilt thou not 
kindle upon the altar of our being that fire that shall 
burn up all the dross, and bring out all the fine gold 
of our natures ? We believe thou wilt. We shall 
trust thee as the Eternal Good, guiding all things in 
nature, and forgetting not our souls. We shall trust 
thee, oh our Father and our Mother, for thy wisdom 
and thy love. 

May we, oh Great Spirit of Benevolence and Jus- 
tice, become comforting spirits to those who sit in 
darkness and in doubt. May we be eyes to the 
blind and ears to the deaf. May we lead those whose 
spiritual senses are not quickened to the things of 
the higher life to a condition wherein they shall be 
baptized with truth — shall become recipients of 
greater peace and greater joy. Thus shall thy king- 
dom come, and we do thy will forever and ever. 
Amen." 

" Lift us, Holy Spirit, nearer and still nearer to 
thee. Hold us, oh Mother of Life, to thy loving 
heart, and teach us to understand thee. We behold 
the glory of the heavens and the earth, and we feel 
thy greatness everywhere, and thy loving kindness 
enters into all forms and baptizes every soul. Yet 



MBS. J. H. CONANT. 319 

thy greatness is so far beyond us that we cannot 
understand thee. The majesty of thy power stands 
out so great and grand that we instinctively fall down 
and worship thee. Oh our Father and our Mother, 
thou hast led us with gentle hand through earth, and 
we find ourselves drinking in the wisdom of the 
higher life, yet we ask for more and still more, to be 
drawn nearer and still nearer to thee, to understand 
thyself and our relations to thee still better, so that 
we may do our duty and m worship thee more truly 
in spirit and in truth. Men tell us that there is 
crime on the earth; that it walks abroad at noon-day; 
and because of crime the prayers of thy children go 
outward to thee, asking that it may be removed ; but 
oh, thou Spirit, who seeth not as thy children see, 
we know that in thine own time and according to thy 
wisdom thou, wilt remove all dark spots from the robe 
of humanity, and it shall be washed clean in the clear 
flowing fountain of truth. 

Grant, oh Loving Spirit, to shed thy holy influence 
upon the hearts of these thy children, causing all the 
tender flowers of their being to put forth through 
newness of life, worshiping thee as they have never 
worshiped before. Oh may they turn a leaf in life's 
page that shall be spotless ; and may they dedicate it 
to thee, and may it be written over and over and 
over again with their good deeds, with their holy 
thoughts. Oh grant that- as thy children learn thy 
will, they may have strength to do thy will also; and 
when the cares of life are presented to them, oh grant, 
great Spirit of Love, that they may take them up 
cheerfully and bear them honorably, even though it 
be up the steeps of Calvary. Oh grant that thy 
children may not fear to do their duty, however hard 
it may be, however dark the path through which they 
may be led. Grant that their inner faith may be 
strong enough, so strong that no outer tempest shall 
affect them, that no night shall take away their inner 



320 A BIOGRAPHY OF 

morning, no external tumult shall affect their inward 
peace. 

Our Father who art in heaven, hallowed be thy 
name ; thy kingdom come ; may thy will be done on 
earth as it is done in heaven ; give thy children this 
day their daily bread, and forgive them their sins, 
even as they forgive those who sin against them ; 
leave them not in temptation, but deliver them from 
evil; for thine is the kingdom, and the power, and 
the glory, forever. Amen." 



CONCLUSION. 

The reader who has perused to the end this narra- 
tive of an earnest, self-devoting life, and the specimen 
sheaves of its harvest of good here garnered, may 
with profit at the present juncture cast the eye of 
retrospection upon the pages ended, and weigh the 
lessons therein contained. We have a little child, 
whose spiritually developed ear caught the echo of the 
rising melody of the angels while yet afar from the 
acceptance or appreciation of a cold and calculating 
world ; we have a young girl mourning the loss of a 
mother's love and a mother's earthly presence, pre- 
maturely broadening into sad-eyed womanhood under 
the forcing process of unremitted manual labor and 
the absence of those luxuries which so often fetter 
minds, both male and female, within the bounds 
of youthful exuberance, till even the second de- 
cade of years has passed ; we find an invalid wife (a 
prophet of the new dispensation, though unknown to 
herself) after due satisfaction that she is not deceived, 
giving her powers to the work of the public dissem- 
ination of the good tidings of Spiritualism, in obedi- 



MRS. J. H. CONANT. 321 

ence to the call of the angels ; and, through every 
trial, remaining true to the faith that is in her, and 
the world of spirits that is around her. In sickness 
and in health, in joy and in sorrow, "through evil 
report, and through good report," she has since fear- 
lessly stood in defence of her cherished convictions, 
reiterating through her inspired lips the gist of Na- 
ture's grand refrain: "Soul, thou shalt never die ! " 
We find her,» at last, known in her capacity as a 
public medium, of irreproachable character and un- 
deniable reliability, wherever among men the truth 
of modern Spiritualism is proclaimed ; yet in her 
own spirit clinging humbly to the holy recollections 
of days gone by — the memory of loved ones passed 
on — and prizing most of all the glorious assurance 
of that meeting in the Morning Land, where the 
cross of earthly disappointment and suffering shall' 
be changed to the crown of an ideal attained. 

This work is not transcribed for purposes of mere 
earthly reputation or renown. To those who have 
seen the mystic curtain uprolled while yet in the 
mortal form, and have stood awestruck beneath 
the great shadow of the Infinite, what are the 
petty, fading distinctions of this material world ? 
No stirring anthem rings along these quiet pages, 
but the sentient ear may catch, if it listens well, the 
solemn minor strain that flows over the border of phys- 
ical decay to cheer the pilgrim soul. If a single 
reader, in perusing these brief memorials, culled here 
and there from the rugged experiences of one of 
earth's mental emancipators, shall clearly interpret 
the intention of their presentation, grow stronger 



322 BIOGRAPHY OF MRS. J. H. CONANT. 

in the determination for right doing and purity of 
life in this world, and inhale but a breath of that 
divine afflatus which tells us we shall live though all 
the stars grow dim, this i>ook has not been written 
in vain. 



FLASHES OF -LIGHT 

FROM 

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THROUGH THE MEDIUMSHIP OF 

MRS. J. H. CONANT. 

Compiled and Arranged bt 

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Constraint, and the ADDED LIGHT OF THE SPIRIT- 
WORLD, concerning 

THE ORIGIN OF MAN, 

the duty devolving upon each individual, and the 
DESTINY OF THE RACE. 
As an Encyclopaedia of Spiritual Information, this work is 
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